First day thoughts

I started a new job today. It's a drastic change from what I have been doing. I've been thinking about this change for many weeks, and praying about it. My prayer has been that God would lead me through this -- that his will would be done.

As I've gone through this process, I have felt that I have been making the right decisions. I have been hopeful that I have been. Discernment is not a piece of cake, though. God doesn't come out of the clouds and leave an email. How does God speak to us? For me, sometimes, it is just that as I pray, or as I think about what is on my mind, odd thoughts or phrases will pop into my mind. I've come to believe that, sometimes, these are thoughts led by God -- engineered by God, perhaps.

This morning, I was doing my morning devotion, and then praying. Here is how it went (and while this isn't exactly what I prayed, the thoughts are the same -- there's no way that I could completely, accurately recreate it:

Heavenly Father,

Today I start a new job. I pray that you will lead me through this -- that this is your will, and that you will equip me for what I need to do.

Thank you, God, for this weekend. Thank you for leading us all through the grace of this weekend -- through the baptism on Saturday, the worship service and confirmation on Sunday, time with family, time with friends. Thank you for your close and obvious presence this weekend.

Lead me Lord. Lead me in thy righteousness. Make thy way plain before my face. (That's a song, and it came to my mind.)

Then this thought -- If you know that I will lead you through the events of the weekend, why will you not believe that I will lead you through this major change in your life?

There was a moment of recognition of the rightness of this statement in my mind. And then the phrase, "Rest assured," came to my mind.

Amen.

I was left with a sense of peace and assurance. Isn't that a great gift to receive on your first day of work?