My last employment change was over a decade ago, when my family and I
moved from Texas so I could accept a new responsibility for my alma mater
(Southern Nazarene University). Amidst that weighty decision, God gave me a
personal confirmation of His assurance through the special lyrics of a Steven
Curtis Chapman song, Dive. These lyrics may sound familiar:
The long awaited rains have fallen hard upon the thirsty ground
And carved their way to where the wild and rushing river can be found
And like the rains, I have been carried here to where the river flows
My heart is racing and my knees are weak as I walk to the edge
I know there is no turning back, once my feet have left the ledge
And in the rush I hear a Voice that’s telling me
It’s time to take the leap of faith, so here I go!
I’m diving in, I’m going deep, In over my head I want to be,
Caught in the rush, lost in the flow, in over my head I want to go,
The River’s deep, the River’s wide, the river’s Water is alive
So sink or swim, I’m diving in!
There is a supernatural power in this mighty river’s flow,
It can bring the dead to life and it can fill an empty soul
And give a heart the only thing worth living and worth dying for,
But we will never know the awesome power of the grace of God
Until we let ourselves get swept away into this holy flood,
So if you’ll take my hand, we’ll close our eyes and count to three,
And take the leap of faith. Come on let’s go!
It was a leap of faith! At stake was an interstate move, finding housing,
locating a new church and a change in schools for Kristen—just in time for
high school. God honored our faith. In time, each detail made perfect sense,
and we knew we were in the place of God’s choosing for us. He even used this
change to allow my mother to live with us the last three years of her life!
After 10 years of knowing I am in the right place at the right time, I was
contacted about an opportunity that some would describe as a dream job –
one with both incredible potential and incredible responsibility. Then came
this question, “We need someone like you. Who do you know?” Though I
didn’t let on, I found it to be very unsettling. Never in 10 years had any other
opportunity garnered even a second glance from me. So why should this be
any different? “This is not for me,” I thought. “It is simply a distraction.”
Even when a job interview was scheduled, I found myself believing God would
just use it as a way to renew my commitment and re-tool my thinking for the
next phase of my journey at SNU.
But why this? And why now? What is God up to? Soon a second appointment
was arranged for further discussion and to answer questions. Again, I thought
it was not for me. I waited for God to bring peace and a re-invigoration of my
career task at hand. Nothing to do but wait for God to make sense of it all!
Meanwhile, I came to realize I had begun grieving the perceived loss of my
future in Christian higher education. That must not happen! Humanly, I can
only see one way for this to go: my way!
In his humanity John the Baptist (Jesus’cousin) must have wondered how the
details would actually unfold, when he felt inspired to proclaim the words of
Isaiah 40:3-5 as a call to baptism and repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
“Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be
filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be
made straight, and the rough ways made smooth; and all flesh shall see the
salvation of God.”
In the hours and days to follow, God began to make my rough places smooth.
Even as I waited for God to re-tool me for my present task, he began to
prepare me for another. I came to see that the candidate they seek to hire is,
indeed, me. Peace returned. For now, I choose to leave this mystery to
Christ’s care and control, fully believing I will begin to see the salvation of God
at work in new ways in my life and in those around me. Take the leap of faith,
come on let’s go!
November 2009, John Martin
(Dec. 14, 2009 I began a new responsibility as Program Officer for the Butterfield Memorial Foundation, the Christian charitable successor to Deaconess Hospital. The mission of the organization is to serve the health needs of the community through the tenets of the Free Methodist Church of North America. First on the “to do” list was to assist in the awarding of nursing scholarships to Christian colleges!)
