Invisible Signs

“Destiny” was the destination plugged into my GPS… or at least that’s where I thought I was headed. Going at the begging-for-a-ticket speed of 90 miles per hour in the slow lane, I tried to exit my time on the highway a little too early. I slammed on my breaks and pulled into a lot full of empty parking spots. Out of sheer laziness, I swerved into the handicap spot under the assumption that no one would notice I didn’t belong there. I backed into the space and glanced at the bright blue sign through my rear-view mirror. It read “Faithless Drivers Only.” Whoop, there it is. Instead of trusting the path God set before me on the highway without the end in sight, I chose to only follow what I could see - a sign.

I aimlessly drove my car in circles; somewhere between point A and point B with the engine light flashing. I continued to park in handicapped spots that never had my name on them  – asking for signs and shut doors when the answers to my prayers were hidden in plain sight on the paged of God’s Word. Though it seemed like the Lord went radio-silent on me, He was shouting the answers through my GPS all along. I wasn’t tuned into God’s Positioning System. The truth is, God could care less about my Bible app streak of 245. Quite frankly, reading the “verse of the day” on the toilet before getting ready for work doesn’t count. I treated reading the Bible like homework instead of heart work. No wonder I couldn’t hear the Navigator’s instructions.

I was callous to the Holy Spirit. Perhaps when I first began my relationship with God, the shallow methods of discerning His voice like quotes from preachers I followed on Instagram were tolerated. But just like a child who matures is expected to do better, the Lord expects the same of my faith. He wasn’t here for my sob story. I believe the route God desired to take me on was tailored specifically for the maturity of my faith. It required me to ignore the alluring alternate routes labeled “Exit ramp” and keep driving.

With a full-force start to my career, I went from being a top 5 graduate of KSU’s school of information systems to accepting employment with one of Fortune’s top 5 companies. I completed master’s level work (for $free.99) with Indiana University, lead data analytics abroad as a resident in Paris, France, and traveled to over 13 countries - all on my company’s dime. Two years later I graduated from the Digital Technology Leadership Program, moved back to Atlanta, GA and found myself at a crossroads. The same company that served the career of a lifetime to me on a sliver platter was now announcing an upcoming layoff of 13,000 employees.

The office grew emptier as weeks went by. Co-workers were curved and dismissed left and right. After dancing with denial for about a month, I decided to start plotting my “Plan B”. I heard about a role in Supply Chain IT role at Chick-fil-A Corporate from a former colleague and decided to go for it. It was rumored that the average applicant could interview anywhere from three months to over a year. That leaves plenty of time to decide if I wanted to jump ship, right?

Wrong. On the contrary… things escalated quickly. To my surprise, I breezed through my technical exam interview, HR screenings and conversations with Senior IT leadership. Within a few short weeks, I was offered a Business Analyst position on Chick-fil-A’s Supply Chain Strategy & Design team in Digital Technology. For the first time in a while, I had absolutely no idea what to do. I prayed for the Lord to give me clear direction. There was no indication that I was even close to losing my job. The longer I prayed, the more I heard tumbleweeds rolling by. After several of silence, God only spoke two words to my spirit:

“Be still.”

What exactly am I supposed to do with that? At the time, I was studying Exodus which is a drama-filled truth about how God rescued Israel from slavery under the Egyptian empire. When it was time for them to crossover to the promised land, their enemies showed up on site behind them. In short, the Israelites started freaking out. God told Moses to pass on this command the people:

“Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.” — Exodus 14:13

‭‭In other words, God said “chill out.” In the midst of playing out every possible scenario that could happen as a result of me leaving my current job or staying, I drove myself crazy. Over the next several days, the words “Be still” were reinforced throughout my day from relevant worship songs on my playlist to the verses I read in personal devotion. God was driving this point home until my soul was resting:

“…Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” - Psalm 46:10

I had seven days to accept or decline my offer. Day six approached and I had not “heard” a yes or no from God. This is where it gets tough. What do you do when you don’t get the answer you’re praying for? Better yet, what do you do when you get no answer at all? You lean into God’s Word and move in faith. We often underestimate our ability to make wise decisions, but we must remember that every child of God has a 24/7 Helper dwelling within him/her. That Helper is the Holy Spirit. The same Holy Spirit who hovered over the face of the waters and took an active role in creating this universe with wisdom (Proverbs 3:19) also lives within you.

I believe the Lord was silent on purpose. When we have clear signs, we really don’t have to trust Him. Faith is built on what cannot be seen. If we can see it, it doesn’t require faith. It is the absence of knowing what lies ahead that requires faith in Jesus Christ. And so, I moved forward in faith and accepted my role at Chick-fil-A. To date, I’ve had many exciting opportunities like leading a devotion at work, receiving two promotions within my first year, and speaking to the Women in Technology group at the University of Southern California. 

I’ve only scratched the surface of hearing from God - and let me be the first to say I have a lot to learn. I’d like to leave you with three thoughts to ponder:

1. Hearing God’s voice is a muscle. The more you work it out, the more capacity you have to hear. John 10:27 says “my sheep know my voice”. If you don’t feel like you ever “hear” from God, tell Him that. He speaks uniquely to each person through His Word, prayer, other people, dreams, music… I could go on and on. All it takes is consistent time in prayer and reading the Word. The more you do, the more familiar you will become with the personality of God and how He speaks uniquely to you.

2. Affirmation is often on the other side of obedience. You may not ever be 100% confident you are making the right decision, but that’s the whole purpose of faith. The day after I accepted my offer, I received a promotion offer from my manager. At first, I felt I made a huge mistake by moving to Chick-fil-A… but I believe the Lord withheld that promotion opportunity while I made a decision to protect me from being influenced by what I COULD see. Though the promotion offer seemed more appealing at the time, I chose not to retract my acceptance from Chick-fil-A. Just four months after leaving the company, I received my first promotion. I was promoted again 10 months later. There’s no way I could have ever predicted God’s blessing on my career. I received it after moving on an invisible sign.

3. Believe that God is sovereign. If you honestly, truly believe that all things work together for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28), you will realize that includes the bad as well. God’s plan is not contingent on your ability to make perfect decisions. He’s already factored in our imperfections into the journey. He’s just that sovereign. Don’t let fear of making the wrong decision stifle your ability to move in faith.

For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. - 2 Timothy 1:7

God isn’t blowing smoke when He says “Trust Me.” It’s not a suggestion. It’s a command. ‘Can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? See how the flowers grow? They don’t labor. If that’s how God clothes grass of the field, will He not much more clothe you - you of little faith? So don’t worry. Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness.’ Align your desires with His. Then, all these things will be given to you. Don’t worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow will worry about itself.