Don't Pray & Worry

Driving to lunch, I noticed a lady walking to her car at her office building just down from the restaurant. I had never seen her before and there was nothing wrong with her, but for some reason my eyes landed on her. Then when I got to my lunch meeting, she was in my party. In fact, she and I were the first two people to arrive. So we had a few moments to introduce ourselves and have small chit-chat. Few minutes later the other folks arrived. The lunch was good, the conversation was great and she shared an awesome testimony that I now know was meant for me to hear this very day. She had worked for a bank for 25 years, expecting to retire from there, when her job was eliminated. Just like that, it's over, we don't need you anymore. She said she went home and wondered what is she going to do now. She decided to first enjoy being at home. Then as other friends discovered she was no longer with that company they began calling her saying they were praying for her. Business associates began calling her giving names of folks she should contact for jobs. Every job interview she went on was set up by someone else; nothing she orchestrated. Finally the manager of another bank called her and invited her to come and talk to him. He offered her a job that was not yet posted, just simply in his mind to create. And, this lady told me, the benefits package could not have been written better herself. The lesson learned was to pray and leave it in God's hands. If you are going to worry, then why pray? If you're going to pray, then don't worry! The two actions cannot go together.

She also had a great testimony of finally getting her dream car - a convertible - and how she used only drive it Fridays to feel "more relaxed." But then realized that tomorrow is not promised to no man and that everyday is an opportunity to feel "relaxed."

I praise God for this testimony because it is helping me during this transition time in my life. We cannot expect all of our prayers to be answered because our ways are not His ways. We still think differently from God sometimes (if not most of the time). Our prayer should be for the Lord to handle it and teach me to walk in it. It's a hard lesson for me, I must be honest, because there are some things that I want for me and my family and I'm not seeing it come to pass. But her testimony showed me that God is still in control, in every circumstance, regardless of what it looks like. Don't pray and worry; otherwise you are wasting your time.