When God says "No"

I imagine that most people are nervous during an interview. The very fact that someone wants to interview you means that something is on the line: a job, a scholarship, an internship, etc. So we dress in our business casual attire, arrive minutes early, perfect our handshake, and rehearse our pros and cons. All this preparation to either be accepted or rejected. When the latter happens, you can almost feel the bullet ripping through your self-esteem. 

You didn’t get the job, the part, or the position. All your hard work is crumbled up and tossed into the trash along with your dignity. You might cry, scream, or not speak at all. This is what happens when God tells you “no”. 

Nobody likes to be told no. It is practically encrypted in our DNA. Unfortunately, this happens more often than we would like. I like to think of it as God’s way of reminding us that this life is about him, not us. Because if God wanted us to get that job or that raise, then we would have. It is that simple yet so difficult to admit to ourselves. 

Someone once told me that a bad interview isn’t a reflection of who you are as a person but a reflection of how well you fit into a position. If an interview goes poorly, this does not mean anything less of you as a person. It just means that you and the position were not necessarily compatible. The two puzzle pieces (you & the employer) were a little off. The interviewer was looking for a perfect fit, and you weren’t it. But that’s okay.

You see, as a follower of Christ, you will always fit perfectly in the hands of God. No matter how many times we mess up or fall short, God still accepts us. He accepts us as we are in spite of everything. So even though God may say no this time, it’s okay. Because he has a better plan where we will fit perfectly. 

"Someday you'll be really, really grateful that God gave you what you needed instead of what you thought you wanted."