Things aren't always what they seem...

So often we take situations at face value and don’t recognize that they are not what they appear. This principle is so important anytime you’re dealing with other people – assumptions lead you to weird places oftentimes. Anyways, that’s the point of today’s post.

The point IS that sometimes God can take what you think is a run of the mill situation and show you that He had so much more in store.

This happened to me this past week. I’m in the process of interviewing people to fill a role on our church media staff team. I’ve talked to many people, asking them all very similar questions and for the most part they were run of the mill. However, when this one person walked in, it was not what it appeared.

This lady, we’ll call her Stephanie, when she walked in, was off to a bad start for the get go. Stephanie was 5 minutes late, something that’s a big no-no for me when people are interviewing. My opinion is that if you couldn’t be responsible enough to be on time, you may not be responsible enough for the job. She apologized though, saying she had never heard of our church before. We began the interview.

After asking my 30+ questions on my list and getting some feedback from her, I asked the standard “do you have any questions for me.” This is where I began to realize I wasn’t in the situation I assumed I was in.

“Yes, I do have a few questions,” Stephanie said. “What is this church’s view on interracial couples?” “A view?” I asked, not understanding why it would even be an issue at all. “Yes, we visited a church once where it was frowned on” said Stephanie. I told her she should steer clear of that church – yikes! But one by one she continued asking questions “What is your view on…” and “Does the church have…” – not a single one of these questions had a bit to do with the job she was interviewing for. It became so clear that she was seeking – desperate to know more about the church…about Jesus.

The conversation led us to a place where I was able to present the Gospel to her, explaining how Jesus changed my life and that He is the answer she is looking for. While she didn’t make a decision right there, she asked if she could go to church on Sunday. “I’d love to go to your downtown campus” she said, “but I’m a different religion right now – I’m a baptist.” After a smile and some clarification, she couldn’t wait to attend on Sunday.

And as for the job…I had to bring it back up before she left. See – this situation was not as it seemed. I fully believe that God used that job opening as a way to answer questions her heart had been searching for and to draw her closer to Him.

Keep your eyes open for situations that may be other than what they seem at first glance. God just may be up to more than you could imagine!