The Mustard Seed

I was reminded what God must mean by “faith of a mustard seed,” when the following memory showed up on my Facebook timeline:

Even though I have always considered myself a Christian and believed in God, I had never really given Him complete control. It was June 10, 2014 when I began truly surrendering to Him. After spending years in advocacy for foster youth and developing ideas to nurture and promote each of their interests into overcoming the obstacles that had been placed in their lives, I was finally starting to see how much God was truly working. I felt more alive than ever! That life and energy was immediately drained after I walked through the door of the business that I had been managing for the past 5 years.

Managing this business had its advantages, as it gave me the flexibility to get deeper into my advocacy for foster youth. Even with this flexibility, among a few other advantages, I felt the most dead inside, I have ever felt, and broke down, asking God to take over and show me the way to Him . How can I give you glory, and still be the Husband, Son, and Future Father that you want me to be?

Over the next few days, my wife found the book that my brother had given me a few years ago, called “Resolution for Men,” by Stephen and Alex Kendrick. God has really spoken to me through it and it has answered the questions that have really burned inside, over the past few years. Soon after I started reading this book, I had another experience where God was showing the way, as my wife and I were visiting friends and one of our friend’s sisters mentioned to me that I should look into getting a Master’s in Social Work.

I quickly shrugged this off, as I did not realize you could get a Master’s in something that you did not have an undergraduate degree in and had never thought about it before this evening. Then God started speaking more and more through the book and the job became even more draining, so I became more serious about the Master’s Degree and decided to pursue it. Soon after, I quit the job that seemed like it was trying to push me away from my new-found surrender to God. It was just not worth the toll that it was taking on my physical and emotional health, and how it was affecting my ability to give those most important in my life the love and genuine attention they deserved.

As I sit here today, fighting for employment to be able to support my wife and our future family, I have more faith than ever in our God. Even though the future is uncertain, I know He will provide and continue serving others through us,

Fast forward to 2019, I have since earned my LMSW and work at my dream job as a case manager. What makes this dream job even better is that I get the opportunity to not only share the gospel, but to play a role in showing the gospel, in the lives of hundreds of individuals who are experiencing feelings of hopelessness and defeat. By the time my career is over, this number will jump into several thousand. I only discuss all of this to illustrate how amazing the power of Christ is.

Here are examples of situations that often seem insignificant in our worldly understanding, but a more than significant in God’s Kingdom.

ONE COMMENT MADE BY A PERSON GOD PLACES INTO YOUR LIFE

One comment about being able to get my MSW degree without having an undergrad social work degree led to me seriously considering going back to school for my master. This then led to me earning my MSW, earning my LMSW, and earning my dream job where I have a chance to impact so many lives on a daily basis

ONE CHANCE INTERACTION

Crystal, the person who made the comment that led to me pursuing my MSW, was somebody I had little interaction with previously.

PLACEMENT

I would most likely have never met Crystal, if it weren’t for my friend, Melinda. Even if she hadn’t already made an impact on my life and the lives of others through her friendship with me already, which she had, she would have made a significant impact on my life and the lives of others simply through her placement as Crystal’s sister and her invitation to her sister to attend this gathering where this comment was made.

A GESTURE DELAYED, NOT FORGOTTEN

My brother had given me a book, called “Resolution for Men.” I had put this book to the side for a long time, until I came across it during my time of feeling the lowest I have ever felt.

CONTINUED CALL

The comment that led to me pursuing my MSW was not the first time somebody told me that I should go get my degree in social work. It was the first time someone told me that I did not have to go back to school for 4 years to get my social work degree. I had blown off each suggestion I received to pursue a degree in social work, until God placed someone in my life, at exactly the right time, saying the exact right thing.

I do not think that all of this happened by pure coincidence. God continued to place situations in my life to keep calling me to His Purpose for my life, and despite my resistance, found a way to create a perfect combination of what I believed at the time to be insignificant events. Little did I know that all of this was part of God’s perfect recipe for my life.

Next time, you see an experience as insignificant or pointless, think about what you can learn from the experience. What is God trying to teach you through that experience. When you are having a random interaction, ask yourself, “is there something that God is trying to show me from this conversation?” When you are listening to someone speak on a topic that you think you know a lot about, I urge you to still listen attentively, as God may be sharpening you through one purposeful comment made by the speaker.