That's Absurd

            “God would not have told you to do that.” These words came from my husband’s lips the day I told him I believed the Lord was leading me to quit my full time, well-paid salaried job to step out in faith and follow Him. I was sitting in my office, it was early in the morning, trying to catch up on some reports that needed to get filed. There was no one else in the office yet, it was just me and the sound of my fingertips pounding the keyboard in front of me. Then it happened. Very softly and very calmly I heard in my spirit “Quit your job and trust me.” I think I might have stopped what I was doing and turned around to see if someone was standing behind me. But then it happened again. There was suddenly an urging, an insistent prodding to take a leap of faith, quit my job and trust what the Lord had for me. I told my husband what had happened, and yep, you guessed it- “God would not have told you to do that.”

            I didn’t know what to do, maybe my husband was right, maybe it was all in my head. I did what I knew to do- I began to pray about it. I began to seek and ask and knock on the doors of heaven for the Lord to give me an answer; for Him to show me the direction I was supposed to take. Was this really the path I was to take? Quit my job? Really? Who does that? But week after week, and eventually month into the next month, the same urging, the same prompting came with every single prayer. I needed to quit my job.

“For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than man.” 1 Corinthians 1: 25 ESV

            June 1^st, 2011. I will never forget that day. It was the day that God’s plans for my life were confirmed and I knew, without a shadow of a doubt that the Lord God was clearly leading me to quit my job and trust Him. I opened my office door that morning, sat down and turned my desk calendar May to June. Written on the top of the page was this quote from Oswald Chambers. “Faith doesn’t know where it is being led, but it knows and trusts the One who is leading.” There it was, as plain as day- the wisdom of God, the answer to all my prayers. Without a moment’s hesitation, I picked up the phone, called my husband and he (not so sure but did agree) that I needed to quit my job. I walked into my boss’s office that day and gave notice.

            Fast forward to today, 2017 and I am now the CEO of my own company. That was not something I would have ever believed would happen. This was not even a path I wanted to take. I was planning on building a Children’s Ministry that would grow and produce curriculum's, VBS programs, plays, skits and all the things in between. I had plans. I was going to be a successful author and travel the world for Jesus. I was sure I knew the direction I was headed when I took that leap of faith and quit my job. Owning my own pet care business was not even a thought in my head. But, the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and Hallelujah! It is wiser than me.

            What the Lord was leading me to do seemed like utter nonsense to any and everyone around me., Even after months of prayer and confirmations from the Lord that this was the right path, my own husband was still skeptical. No one thought I was doing the right thing. Many people looked at me like I was absurd for quitting my job and jumping out into the unknown. But I trusted in His hands to lead me. It was not easy, and there were times when I doubted that I had done the right thing. We were broke, had little to no money, had debt piling up and two teenagers to feed and clothe. Me quitting my job was not wise, it was foolish. But, the foolishness of God is wiser than men.

            Paul in his letter to the Corinthians is explaining to them that the cross of Jesus Christ does not make sense to the world. The world around us looks at us who believe that a man who lived over 2000 years ago, died so that we could go to heaven. The whole truth of the gospel, when you really think about it, makes no sense. How could one man save the whole world? How could one man die for the sins of every single person to every walk the face of the earth. This truth just seems impossible. But, we know that it is truth. The simple fact remains that God came in the flesh and took upon Himself our sins so that we might be able to have fellowship with Him. The gospel is simple to us who believe and we see the mighty power and the foreknowledge of God through it, but to the world it is silly and hard to understand. The path the Lord is urging you to take may seem like foolishness to others, but to you, if you believe, you will see the mighty power of God in and through it all.

            I have some decisions in my life to make today and in the next couple of weeks. There is one decision that I have been praying about in regards to expanding my business. I have been praying for wisdom and guidance for a quite a while now. Yesterday, I mentioned it to someone and they thought it was foolish. Why would I want to do that now? I have so much going on that it makes no sense for me to take step and go that way. They don’t see it as a step of faith, they see it as a foolish mistake. But what if? What if the folly the world sees, is the wisdom of God for me? What do I do then?

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            I have posted this lesson many times here on this blog as well as on my social media sites, and a lesson I pray we all learn. God is the only One that matters. His opinion, His commands, His leading is all that matters and should matter to you. His plan is the one that is the best for you, even if it seems like foolishness to everyone else. Had I ignored that urging all those years ago, I would not be where I am today. Had I listened to the voices of those around me (yes, many of them Christians) who agreed with my husband that God would never tell me to do something like that, I would not be doing what I am doing today. And I must tell you that this company, this business that I own is the most fulfilling and rewarding career I have ever had. (After being a mom, of course!) I love what I do, and I am amazed and awed at the opportunities the Lord has brought my way to share His truth, to encourage and pray for so many people. I have had the opportunity to share my testimony and to find sisters in the Lord who share the same passion for Jesus that I do through this business. I have been able to share the gospel with so many people, all because I saw the wisdom of God only when the world saw the foolishness.

            Is this always the case? Will we always be sure that God is leading us in a certain direction? No, I don’t think we always will. I think sometimes we have take a leap of faith and trust that what we believe the Lord is leading us to do is the right path to take. Despite what man says. What seems foolish, that which makes no sense, that which is absurd in the eyes of men, in the eyes of this world; is very likely the wisdom of God at work in your life. This walk is a walk faith. It takes courage to step out of what the world says is wise and trust in what God says is wise.

            To many around you, those who are close and those who are far, it may look silly, absurd and “God would never tell you to do that”, yet when we take that step of faith and trust in the wisdom of our all-powerful God, that which was foolish to them now becomes the power of God working in us. We walk by faith, and not by sight. To the world, and to everyone around you, it makes no sense, but God says, “Trust me, I got this.” Amen?