When my family was asked to move to Kansas to fulfill a larger role in our ministry, my wife, our kids, and I joyfully said “YES.” We knew it was the right next step. We also knew it wouldn’t come without challenges.
The biggest one for me wasn’t packing boxes or learning new streets. It was the quiet battle in my mind.
Every time we’ve moved, I’ve wrestled with the same questions:
- Will I find a job that really fits how God has wired me?
- Will I be able to support our family well?
- Will the schedule allow me to serve in ministry and still show up for my kids’ events?
What’s interesting is that my fear has never matched my experience. I’ve never had a season where God didn’t provide a job quickly. The nervousness has always been mental, not experiential. God’s record is perfect. My thinking isn’t.
This move was no different. We had been in Kansas for a few weeks and nothing was moving. No phone calls. No interviews. No offers. Just a steady stream of polite rejection emails.
On paper, it looked like doors were closing. Inside, it felt like walls were closing in.
Giving When You Feel Empty
In that stretch, I stayed faithful with something small but important: writing notes to my kids. Those simple leadership and Scripture notes were meant to encourage them—but more than once, I realized I was the one being encouraged as I wrote.
One day, I told Samantha, “I want to start posting these notes on social media.” The goal wasn’t to complain about my situation. I wanted to share encouragement and leadership with people who might be walking through the same kind of uncertainty I was—or through something completely different, but just as heavy.
I didn’t have a job offer to celebrate. I didn’t have a big breakthrough story to announce.
But I did have:
- God’s Word,
- a keyboard, and
- a desire to give something away.
So I started giving.
I posted the notes. I shared the Scriptures. I tried to cheer on other people’s believing while my own was being stretched.
And then God started moving in ways I couldn’t have arranged on my own.
- An old friend reached out and offered to help with my résumé.
- A gentleman from a local bank helped connect me to an interview for a position.
- People started commenting how much the posts were blessing and encouraging them.
The circumstances didn’t flip overnight, but the flow changed. Doors that had been tightly shut started to crack open.
Eventually, I landed a position with the local hospital. It has been a blessing to our family—financially, practically, and even in terms of schedule and opportunities to serve.
Looking back, the job itself was a gift. But the bigger gift was the lesson that came with it:
You can never outgive God.
When the Road Is Harder Than You Expected
Every meaningful dream and step of obedience will run into resistance—delays, disappointments, and closed doors you didn’t plan for. That doesn’t automatically mean you misheard God. Often, it’s where your character and clarity get refined.
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord,
thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”
— Jeremiah 29:11 (KJV)
In Kansas, God was sharpening at least three things in me:
- My trust – learning to believe His promises more than my rejection emails.
- My priorities – remembering that serving others isn’t something I do after I get what I want; it’s part of how God moves in my life.
- My generosity – giving encouragement and truth even when I felt like I didn’t have much to give.
When I felt like I had tried everything—applied everywhere, refreshed my email more times than I’d like to admit—God’s nudge was simple:
When you don’t know what else to do, give.
Give a note.
Give a prayer.
Give encouragement.
Give time.
Give service.
My calling to give and to serve can’t be put on hold until my circumstances feel secure.
Turning Stuck Moments Into Serving Moments
Instead of a question just for “you and your kids,” here’s the heart of it:
When life feels stuck and you don’t know what else to do next, ask:
“Who can I serve, and what can I give, right where I am?”
It might look like:
- Encouraging a teammate who didn’t make the play.
- Helping a co‑worker who’s overloaded.
- Serving at church when you feel tired.
- Sharing a Scripture that’s been holding you up.
Leaders who walk by believing don’t wait for perfect conditions to be generous. They keep looking for ways to serve, trusting that God notices every quiet act and knows how to bring the right opportunities at the right time.
I still have plenty of goals and aspirations. That’s good. But I can’t let those dreams drown out my opportunities to give and to serve along the way.
Because at the end of the day, one thing has proven true in my life again and again:
You can’t outgive God.
Leave a Reply