A Leap From The Lion's Head

My favorite movie of the original Indiana Jones trilogy has to be The Last Crusade. In this final (or so we thought at the time) installment, Doctor Jones, has to obtain the Holy Grail, the cup of Christ, not only for his glory, but to save his father. One of his final tests, before he reaches the room where the Grail is kept, is a chasm separating him from the continuation of his journey. His clue to success is in "a leap from the lion's" head, which is where he happens to find himself standing.



I took such a leap myself last month when I resigned my job without the safety net of a new one. It was time for me to leave, that I knew. The only question was when. Conventional wisdom would have said, "when you find a job, fool". However, once I prayed and then asked God for his wisdom and guidance, His answer was an odd (to me) one. He suggested I resign on my birthday, as a gift to myself. I was suddenly gripped with fear. How was I going to tell my wife. Or better yet, what kind of riot act would she read me, for something that sounded so fool-hearty. God's response? Tell, her what you told me, and then tell her what I told you. Oooookay.

When I got home, I did just that. Then I told her to pray about it, and let me know what she heard from God. To my surprise, although she was concerned, she wasn't frantic. She prayed about it, and then the next day told me that whatever God had planned for us, that was what was going to happen, and if that was what I was hearing from God she would stand with me in faith. That was not what I expected.

A week later I grew more panicked as I had no job prospects that were magically appearing, as that is how I believe God would come through. Lesson: don't try to put God in a box. I then was listening to an audio sermon where God was described not as a boss, who rewards or punishes us based on how good we behave or perform, but more like a doctor who recognizes when we are sick and offers us prescriptions to heals us.

After listening to that sermon I realized that God was giving me a prescription because I was ailing in my current position. It was in my best interests, health-wise, to leave rather than stay, in spite of my fears. Still, I wasn't quite sure if God was really talking to me. Later that afternoon while taking in my daily dose of NPR's News and Notes, I picked up on a line one of the
panelists uttered during their discussion of whether Hillary Clinton should have conceded (at the time) that Barack Obama was the presumptive presidential nonimee or not. The panelist likened Hillary to a child standing in front of a blackboard with lines of chalk reading, "I need to quit. I need to quit. I need to quit." It couldn't have gotten any clearer than that for me.

So, on my birthday, I handed in my resignation. Immediately, a feeling of relief washed over me. I was free. Once my two weeks were up, I realized it was for real. With no job in sight, I was really counting on the Lord now. My time would be filled with my master's program and helping out my wife with her side business a bit more.

Then my boss suggested I help out on a part-time basis, until I got something more permanent, as they would appreciate my help. I accepted. I would work a third of the time that I used to.

Then my wife's contract ended earlier than we expected. Oh dear, we though. This was a curve ball to say the least. Our faith would now be put to the test. I could always go back, a voice came into my head. But, I beat it back. That would defeat the whole purpose of my faith in action. I would wait on the Lord.

As June rolled by, I found that we had all the income we needed, and then some. Then, last week. I was listening to messages and found a lost message from a recruiter. I called back and three interviews later, I accepted an office for the ideal job, with a pay nice increase as well.

While I'm happy about the job, I'm happier that the Lord showed His power once again, and that he healed that which ailed me through his prescription. I gave Him praise for reminding me that "faith is being sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we do not see" (Hebrews 11:1).