Learn To Work With What You Got
I am learning that the key to being content and full in life is to work with what you have.
For the past 3 years, I have been asking God to open up the door for me to be in a school district with better pay. I enjoy where I work and I like the people that I work with but the cost of living is expensive and my paychecks are slipping through my hands like oil. The amount that I would see every paycheck created frustration, stress, and anxiety. I didn’t like knowing that I couldn’t pay my credit card bills in full because my rent and car were my top priorities. I remember applying to so many school districts within the last 2 years and while some doors remained closed, some did open. I remember going through the interview process, feeling confident in my knowledge. Every interview came with a phone call stating that I got the job. Was I excited? Yes, but the excitement did not last long. Soon unsettlement set it. I began questioning myself, wondering if this was where God truly wanted me to be. And every time I sat in reflection, I was reminded of how God had opened up the door immediately for me to be in this specific school district that I am in today. Not even hours after the interview did I get hired. Some saw it as a school district’s desperation but I saw it as God’s favor. God knew exactly what He was doing when He placed me in this school district. I have applied to other districts at the time and I still have that list to date however, no other door opened but this one. And I remember feeling excited days, weeks, and even months after. I knew that I knew that I knew that it was nobody but God. Everything was a smooth process.
It wasn’t until I found out that other districts made way more than my own a year in that I begun to ask God for more. What I had all of a sudden wasn’t enough. To an extent, that was true. My rent drastically increased. I went from a car to an SUV for personal reasons. I have to spend a lot more on gas. I made friends so I was going out more. I got involved in extracurricular activities. I birthed a ministry and business. My financial needs changed. Year after year since getting a whift of that information, I’ve been asking God for more. It wasn’t until I was sitting with my mom in my childhood home and this revelation came to me, “Rather than ask God for more, why not ask God to help you work with what you got?” That was powerful to me. My mindset told me that I was lacking when God told me that that was furthest from the truth.
You too may be at a job where the pay is not the best but don’t you think God knew that before He even placed you there? I believe that God knew exactly what He was doing when He placed us at a job where it feels like we are truly living paycheck to paycheck. He wants to teach us a valuable lesson. He wants us to learn to be faithful in the small. Little is much when God is in it. Whether you have a little or a lot, Paul reminds us in Philippians to be content (Philippians 4:11-13). Maybe, just maybe, God wants to teach you how to budget better with the little because more is coming your way.
You and I may not be making 6 figures (yet) and that is okay! God could have easily placed me in a school district where I was making well over 90k now 4 years in as a school psychologist but He didn’t. He already knew that He wasn’t going to. Why? Because I believe that God wants to teach me how to work within my means and be satisfied with what I currently have. More money will not solve whatever financial stressors that I am facing. Learning to be disciplined, continuing to tithe, and trusting God will. God reminds us to seek Him first (Matthew 6:33). Not what’s in our wallet or bank account. He wants us to go to Him. He wants us to cast our cares upon Him (1 Peter 5:7) every single time the thought of money and how you will make ends meet come. Once we do so, all other things will be added unto us as we rest in His peace.
God wants you to live an abundant life, free of worry, frustration, fear, stress, and anxiety. In order to do so, you have to learn to work with what you have and let God take care of the rest. It is so easy to do the former and frustrate yourself, but it takes just a small ounce of faith to shift your perspective. Wishing you had this or that will only pull you away from God because your focus is now on you and not Him. Let Him meet all of your needs and in order for Him to do so, you have to come to a place of surrender. Stop trying to figure it out by yourself and allow God in. Strip off pride and let humility come your portion. Ask God for His help. He wants to bless you but He’s waiting on you. God will never allow His children to be without. If this is where life has you today, work it! Stop looking at others and comparing your situation to theirs. Embrace everything about you and where you are in this season of your life as you trust God to help you. He won’t ever fail you. He wants to see how you will handle the little before He entrusts you with more. Don’t fail the test because of what you have yet to see.
**If you are struggling financially today, ask God to help you. He has helped me tremendously and has continued to do so. He will reveal to you areas where you can cut back on and strengthen you with self-control to resist how you used to spend. Nothing is too hard for God. When you invite Him in, your life will forever change… and so will your finances. It will take time but with all that was mentioned above (discipline, tithe, trusting, faith), it will happen.
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