I Believe in God

“Congratulations!”, “What are you saying?”, “Finally!”, “This is a big mistake.”, “This came as a shock!”, “Think again.”, “Why? Why now?”, “You are kidding, right?”........ These were some of the reactions I received when I resigned from my first job on 14^th August 2012 without having any job in hand! Yes without a job in hand!! What made me do that? Well, thought of sharing that here.

I had actually been thinking about looking out for a better opportunity for some months now. The reasons for the same were many - both professional and personal. However, I was in dilemma and didn’t know what to do and how to proceed? I wanted to resign, but how could I without getting another job! I consulted a few close friends and family members and they gave me different advice, which confused me further. It had become difficult for me to continue with such ambiguity and I had to decide what to do with my life sooner than later.

Finally, I decided to consult someone who had helped me take many of the major decisions in my life – God, my Heavenly Father! I decided to spend a weekend praying and trying to listen to what He had to tell me. And what I heard surprised me!!

11^th August, 2012: After spending some time in prayer and asking God’s advice I came across the Bible passage - Jeremiah 21:1-10. Some of the verses through which God clearly spoke to me were: “Those who remain within the confines of the city will meet their death....; those who go out ... will live.” After reading it, I was sure God was asking me to leave. I shared the passage with one of my friends who also got the same insight!

12^th August 2012:  After spending some time before the Blessed Sacrament, God spoke to me through the passage – Zechariah 2:10-17. And this is what He had to tell me: “Come, Come! Flee from the land..... Come, Escape O Zion!” ..... “Whoever touches you, touches the apple of my eye.”

I was stunned, shocked, amazed on how precisely, how clearly God spoke to me through my friend and through two unrelated passages from the Bible. The message was loud and clear to me – it was time for me to leave, time for me to resign. I also received assurance that everything will work out well – it may not be in terms of a better job or higher salary, but it surely would be according to the plans God has for me. That night I decided to let go of my worries regarding the bleak job market, the chances of making the biggest blunder early in my career. I decided to let go of the logical and rational person that I am and instead decided to trust God’s plan, decided to trust God’s words! I decided to resign.

13^th  August 2012: I wanted to speak to my superior regarding the same, however wasn’t able to.

14^th August 2012: God spoke again, confirming what I was about to do was correct. 1 Thes 2:13 – “...on receiving our message, you accepted it, not as a human teaching, but as the word of God. This is what it really is.” He asked me to trust in Him as well through the verse Psalm 32:10 – “...the Lord’s mercy unfolds those who trust in Him.” The same day I took the blind leap of faith. I resigned and started serving three months of my notice period absolutely unsure of what was in store for me.

In the following days and weeks, God spoke to me in so many instances, through the Bible, through people, through the mails I read, through signs I saw on the road..... It was just crazy! Every day I used to be amazed how God would speak to me, guide me, comfort me. He was like a loving father, walking by my side, showing me the way when I was lost!

With His grace, things started working out for me.  My resume was shortlisted in a reputed organization, with the help of one of my friends and I was clearing rounds after rounds of interview. However, I wasn’t prepared for what was coming my way. After attending the final round of interview, there was a delay in receiving any communication. When I contacted them, I was told it might take some time and that they were still discussing. Even though I knew I had to trust God, I became anxious and worried that this offer may not materialize at all. The next day (Saturday), during my daily time with God, I shared everything with Him and in return, He showed me a glimpse of a big fish. The first thing that came into my mind was the story of Jonah, how he was swallowed by a big fish and then spat out on the third day. Was this an indication from God, that I would receive some good news on the third day?? I just hoped. On Sunday, while attending a prayer meeting, the priest mention Jonah’s story to me without having a clue of what was going on in my life! This was a confirmation from God that something was going to happen on the third day.  On Monday evening – the third day from Saturday – I received a call confirming that I was selected, that I was being offered a job!! My joy knew no bounds!! I couldn’t thank God enough for being by my side all through these days.

11^th November 2012: My last working day at my first organization. Many times during my notice period, many asked me to reconsider my decision and revoke my resignation. There were times when even I wondered if I should do the same. However, the decision to resign was not mine, it was God’s. The decision to revoke, couldn’t also be mine.

14^th November 2012: Exactly three months after my resignation, I joined the new organization.

Many a times in our lives while taking a decision, we depend on ourselves and on others, when what is needed is to trust God and to listen to Him – the one who created us, who gave us this life, who knows every second of our life. We don’t have to be a saint to be able to listen to Him. We just need to be a child looking up to our loving Father, willing to trust Him completely.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your understanding; in all your ways submit to Him and He will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5,6)

God Bless!

God Speaks

You might have read my last post – ‘Life is..’  Now let me take you behind the scenes of that post.  I have been thinking about writing that post for a long time. It was slowly taking shape.  But me being the procrastinating me, I just kept on delaying it. Finally on 14^th Nov, a Sunday morning, before going to the church I had made up my mind about what to write and also to publish the same that very day.  It was just another Sunday Mass I was going to attend, but surprise awaited me.

While going for every Mass I try and say a small prayer, ‘Lord, speak to me through this Holy Eucharist.’ And on that day He spoke pretty clearly. On the way I was preoccupied about what to write in the next post. I had decided that I would write about what life is, about priorities and also mention the verse ‘Seek first the Kingdom of God and everything else would be added unto it.’  I went inside the Church waiting for the celebration to begin. The priest entered and guess what were his first few words. He asked us all a question – ‘What is Life?’ On any other day it would have been an ordinary introduction, but that day I was surprised to hear that. This was the same thing I was going to write about! It was as if God was confirming what was going in my mind. That was not all. As the Mass progressed we reached the Gospel acclamation part. And guess what the Choir sang – ‘Seek ye first the Kingdom of God....’ The very same verse i was about to mention!! I was elated, ecstatic!!! Couldn’t stop smiling and singing along. God spoke so precisely, so to-the-point to me during that Mass. I couldn’t have got a better confirmation from Him.

I come across many people who question God’s existence, many who think praying is like talking to a brick wall, many who feel God doesn’t speak and even faithful ones who think God has stopped talking! I don’t have answers to all their questions, but one thing I’m sure of is that our God speaks.

All though the Holy Scripture we can see God speaking. He spoke through the clouds, through the burning bush, through the wind, through visions, through dreams, through messengers, through prophets and angels. Even today He speaks. He speaks through people we meet, through nature, through the things we see, through priests, through the Holy Eucharist, through the Holy Scriptures. But are we listening?

I remember a quote written on a T-shirt I bought from one of the Youth conferences some years back. It read – ‘To listen to God’s voice, turn down the world’s volume.’ It’s so true. We are so surrounded with the clanging and clatter of our fast paced lives full of concerns, worries, tension, target, pressure, commitments, aspirations on one side and fun, frolic, pleasure, blissful entertainment, enjoyment on the other side that we are unable to hear our Almighty God’s gentle, still small voice which speaks straight to our heart. Let’s try, especially in this season of Advent, to tune ourselves to listen to His voice. And ‘If you listen to God’s voice, do not harden your heart.’ (Heb 3:8)

God is always speaking. Lets listen to Our Father.

God Bless!