My Walk Through the Rules

Last week, I put up the main points from the book The Red Sea Rules. At a time when so many people are losing their jobs or struggling in others ways, I've found this book to be a good source of encouragement and I've given away four or five copies so far. It's not expensive at all if you want to go buy one (the full retail price is $10) and, depending on how you decide to approach the book, you can read it through in a day or two.

I didn't read The Red Sea Rules as soon as it was given to me last October so we were well into our Red Sea experience when I finally opened it up. Nonetheless, as I read it, I tried to see how the pieces of our story might fit. Here are some reflections now as we think we're nearing the end of the job search journey . . .

1. Realize that God means for you to be where you are. - This has been a most puzzling thing to me. Why did God allow us to move 2000 miles away from family and friends, the beauty of the Pacific Northwest and the security of a job working for a public university and then spring a trap door, as Steve Farrar would put it, under us? I still don't know, though we have loved our time in Fort Wayne, there have been great friendships formed here, the boys have benefited from their new school and I gained new experiences at Taylor. Still, we are very committed to the concept that God is in charge and that He brought us here for a reason and is now pushing us into yet another adventure for a reason.

2. Be more concerned for God’s glory than for your relief. - This hasn't been a huge challenge for us because (so far at least!) God has met our needs financially. And since I actually enjoy the process of hunting, applying and interviewing for jobs, it hasn't felt like a great burden. But I think I'm ready for some "relief" now and to get back to work! In any case, we do want to see God glorified through this chain of events.

3. Acknowledge your enemy, but keep your eyes on the Lord. - I'm not sure we feel like we have an enemy, unless it might potentially be discouragement. Just before things came to an end for me at Taylor, though, I definitely felt like I was confronting an enemy of sorts--a relatively new experience for me--and in some ways I think I could have benefited from this book even more when I was going through that experience.

4. Pray! - Yes, I've prayed, but certainly not as faithfully or fervently as I should have.

5. Stay calm and confident, and give God time to work. - I think we've done a great job on this point. From the very beginning, it's been our desire to be patient and discerning, not simply grabbing the first opportunity that came along. Part of the problem, though, is that you never know what "give God time to work" means on the calendar. How much time does He need?! We've prayed for the opportunity to stay here in Fort Wayne and none have presented themselves. So if we take a job in Illinois or California or Albania this week, would He have opened a door here in Allen County next week?

6. When unsure, just take the next logical step by faith. - This rule kind of kills me . . . Was it really the next logical step for the Israelites to step into the bed of the Red Sea with walls of water piled up alongside them? It may have been the next faithful step or the next obedient step or even the next desperate step, but was it a logical one? I think I have tried to balance faith and logic, moving forward pretty continuously with whatever actions I could take, with only a couple of exceptions.

7. Envision God’s enveloping presence. - I've been able to do this at times, more as a result of reflecting on some parts of the book TrueFaced. It's been encouraging to picture Jesus standing by my side, looking with me at the challenges we face and caring about these challenges just as much as I do.

8. Trust God to deliver in His own unique way. - Still waiting but at this moment it appears that our decision is boiling down to two different possibilities. The one, which seems more likely, is a unique opportunity to build a program while keeping the family in Fort Wayne for a time. The other may be a "God thing," as Mike Breaux used to say, based on the strange way that He got me into the university's applicant pool. Stay tuned to see what happens!

9. View your current crisis as a faith builder for the future. - I think that's how this will play out. It's been surprising how many of our friends have come alongside us to say that they've been through similar times of unemployment and uncertainty. Because God has met our needs so far, it's easy to say that this serves as a faith builder.

10. Don’t forget to praise Him. - I have really tried to acknowledge Him throughout this experience, especially the way He has provided encouragement through others. For instance, one of my fears early on was that, frankly, people would forget me. Out of sight, out of mind, and my ability to contribute to their lives--especially professionally--has been compromised. Nevertheless, periodically I've gotten e-mails or phone calls or Facebook messages out of the blue, sometimes even from friends of friends or from people I haven't had contact with for many months. God has been good to us and I really do give him the praise.