True Story #1

“You’re going to be fired!”

Wide-eyed, my colleague ran into my office and blurted it out. I sat up, confused. Why would I be fired?

Our new boss—I had not even met her—had told him she was going to let me go.

It was a shock.

My reaction was two-fold: fear about losing my nine-year job, and anger.

Within hours, I had walked the few blocks to our top competitor and dropped off my resume. Now, back at my desk, I was mulling how to approach Human Resources to fight being unfairly laid off.

Then, I stopped.

I considered myself a Christian, but I had not even prayed. Plus, I was doing the opposite of God’s commands against fear and anger. How bad did a situation have to be before I set aside my own impulses and obeyed Him?

I shelved my plan of going to Human Resources.

What does God want me to do with this new boss? To mind came God’s command, “love your enemy.” Well, the new boss was apparently my enemy, yet I was to love her—not as a gushy emotion, but with behaviors dictated in scripture: “Love is patient and kind…not resentful…endures all things,” and “pray for your enemy.”

Well-l-l-l, okay. To obey, I would not be resentful, endure whatever occurred, and begin to pray each morning for my enemy-boss. I chose to say nothing derogatory about her to anyone, kept normal hours, did my best work, and decided I would not worry. Each morning before work, I prayed for her for about 5 minutes, using the lengthy “Prayer for a Superior” in the book, Prayers That Avail Much for Women, by Germaine Copeland.

Three weeks passed, during which time as my new boss was learning the ropes of our division, she either ignored me or, at group meetings, gave me a cold glance.

I kept praying for her.

The unexpected happened: I found myself caring for this woman, admiring how she tackled her new job, her long hours, good decisions, and wise directives. The few times we interacted, she was terse—even rude—yet, where normally I would have felt offended, I was calm.

I had no resentment or fear. Weeks of daily prayer had led me to conclude: if God had me lose this job, He’d undoubtedly provide another one—possibly one even better. I had decided to trust Him and not worry what might happen.

One afternoon she called me to her office, said she had no need for my position, and offered me a job unsuited to my 25 years’ experience: an entry-level job. An unattractive offer, it appeared to be a ploy to get me to resign, but I felt no anger, and spoke honestly:

“Thank you for the offer, but I can’t accept it.”

She responded, “Well, then I’ll have to let you go because I have no need for you.”

My response was nothing I had planned, nor was it even in my mind as I heard myself say, “OK. I understand—you must do what you have to do. But until then, I’ll continue to work my very hardest for you.”

With those words, I gave her a big, genuine smile (also, something I had not thought of doing)! I felt joyful being in her presence—sitting and talking with a woman I had come to admire. As bizarre as it was, God had changed my heart. His commands—love and be kind to an enemy—never predicted that I would gain genuine affection for my enemy. It was miraculous.

She heard my words, must have sensed my sincerity—perhaps even my admiration for her—and her jaw dropped. Then, appearing to notice that her mouth was hanging open, she closed it.

What happened next had also never happened before:

She smiled at me.

In that instant, God changed her heart toward me. The transformation was immediate—and huge.

She didn’t fire me, but kept me in my same, “unneeded” job. We became close workmates. She later gave me a raise, then a bonus. She bought me a birthday gift (a carrier for my golf clubs) and took me out for a steak dinner. I remained with the company long after she moved to another state.

I could never have imagined God’s outcome. I had been ready to fight to keep my job, but God was ready to give me far more simply by obeying His word. Peace replaced fear and anger, the Holy Spirit gave me surprising words at the “firing,” an enemy became a friend, and I received more income!

Yet, far more valuable was that the process taught me the peace that comes from trusting God’s word, and surprises from seeing what obedience to Him does. This experience created in me a desire to know and obey all His commands in future, rather than follow my self-righteous impulses.

Postscript

Years later, it occurred to me that perhaps the reason my new boss had so much energy, insight, and wisdom, was because those were some attributes which I had prayed for her each morning for weeks, and God gave them to her!

True story #2

Every Saturday, 2015—2017, I provided spiritual support to incarcerated females at our jail. One day, the demeanor of the tier’s officer was negative, and I felt intimidated. But I recalled and trusted God’s word to “not fear,” so forced myself to ask the officer if there was anything I could pray for her.

It turned out that she wasn’t hostile toward me; she was upset and fearful about many issues in her family’s lives; she was just trying to hold herself together for the shift, which presented itself as terseness toward me. She said that she was trying to figure out what God was doing.

This made me realize that correctional staff—not just the incarcerated—also needed a caring heart and encouragement. So, I asked the jail if I could be allowed to come to the jail one more hour weekly to meet with the COs on that one floor of that division.

Instead, the jail asked me to be a roving chaplain to all 4,000 staff. I could rove any division enter day or night, 24/7/365. Only God could have opened such doors—literally—as it was never in my imagination! All because I obeyed the scripture, “Do not fear.”

God’s valuable, loving word is written for everyone: nonbelievers and believers in Christ.1 It guides nonbelievers to understand and accept God’s plan for eternal life through Jesus Christ. It guides believers on how to spiritually mature and participate in God’s plan daily, until death.

God promises to reward those who obey His word. This doesn’t mean that we get what we want, because—as these experiences showed—we can’t even imagine what God may orchestrate: “God is able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine…” (Ephesians 3:20).

He has plans we don’t know. “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD—to prosper, not harm you, to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11).

Do you read the Bible? We can gain God’s wisdom and direction—far better than anything we can get by our own efforts— by obeying His commands, which we only know by reading His love-letter to us, which is the Bible. God is lovingly patient, and waits for us to read His word, to believe, trust and obey it—for our benefit and joy.

Perhaps you already regularly read it. If not, please do—it’s life-changing—for this life and eternity! To help you get started are three short leaflets on the AJA website: Why Read & Believe the Bible; How to Read the Bible; and Why Know & Obey God’s Commands. They’re at AJA.org—Publications—Wellness—Leaflets—Spiritual Matters.

I pray that you choose to begin the amazing, unique journey which God has planned for unique you!

If you’ve a story about God’s amazing provision to you, I would love to hear it, and if you’ve any question or prayer need, it would be my privilege to hear from you.

Endnotes

1. “Believers” are defined as those who acknowledge Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, and the only way to God, as explained in scripture: “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30), and “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

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Chaplain Linda Ahrens Chaplain American Jail Association