God's Plan for Your Life

“I cry out to the Lord with my voice; with my voice to the Lord, I make my supplication. I pour out my complaint before Him; I declare before Him my trouble. When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then You knew my path.” - Psalm 142:1-3

I'll never forget standing in the hallway at my elementary campus at 6:00 p.m. when I received a call on my cell phone. Unbeknownst to me, it was a parent. An angry parent!

This parent was screaming so loudly that I remember pulling the phone away from my ear. After being yelled at for asking her child too many questions, I began to sob. I looked down to find my two preschoolers hugging my leg with concerned faces. Dad brought them to the school, along with dinner, and unfortunately, they had to witness this humiliating scene play out.

If you have been a teacher for a long time, I'm sure you have experienced the joy of listening to enraged parents vent over a situation you meant for good.

In Genesis chapter 16, Hagar experienced venomous hatred from a woman named Sarai. The funny thing is that Hagar obeyed Sarai when she asked her to become her husband's wife (Gen. 16:3). Yes, you read that correctly!

Let me set the scene for you.

Sarai was unable to bear children. In those days, a son would carry on the family lineage. As a woman, you would have been a disgrace to the family if you were unable to bear a son, especially when you look around and one mama may have ten sons.

Sarai panicked and could no longer wait on God. So, she devised a plan to have Abram bear a son with Hagar. Her plan worked! Hagar conceived a child, and Sarai despised her (Gen. 16:4). I'm sure there were a few other words between Sarai and Hagar, but I'll keep this post rated PG.

Sarai told Hagar to leave the camp. Where would Hagar go? She ran to the wilderness. She tried to avoid the situation. But an Angel of the Lord appeared and said, "Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand" (Gen. 16:9). Was he serious right now? He wanted her to return to this abusive relationship and raise her child with Sarai and Abram?

Yes. That was the plan God laid out for Hagar. She obeyed even though it didn't make sense. Although it may have felt uncomfortable, she returned to camp to live with Sarai and Abram. She had to eat a slice of humble pie, but she did it!

Isn't it the same for us today? After that parent reamed me up one side and down the other over the phone, I could have quit the next day. This was during a time when teacher shortages existed. It would have been easy to find another job, but I stayed. I remained at that campus longer than any other. If I had walked away because of one parent, I would have never met all the other amazingly supportive parents and their kiddos.

God had not planned for me to leave education at that time. I still had a job to do, and it was to impact the lives of those families while shining a light around the campus.

My friend, maybe you are in a similar situation. Can I encourage you to hang in there? Don't quit. Wait on the Lord and don't run ahead of Him. Trust me, He will close the door at just the right time and open a new door for you to walk through.

Until then, reflect on the words God spoke to the Israelites before they were taken captive by the Babylonians, where they would live for 70 years.

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope" (Jer. 29:11).

If you need more encouragement on how God can deliver you from the storms of life, be sure to check out my devotional book, "Delivered! Finding Hope in the Storms of Life."