Proverbs 16:33; Proverbs 19:21

33 The lot is cast into the lap,
but its every decision is from the LORD.

21 Many are the plans in a man's heart,
but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails.

Have you ever looked around at your circumstances, whether good or bad, and thought, "I would have never thought I would have ended up here?" I had a job once that I was devoted to, to a fault-- above all else in my life. I spent all my energy thinking about it stressing about it and figuring out ways to make it successful. About three years into it, things were successful, much more than I imagined. I found myself, however, on the verge of burnout. With a child on the way I knew it wasn't going to work anymore. Along came the perfect opportunity to get out-- another job in the same company making the same money, the same opportunity for advancement, and with a fraction of the pressure. I decided to take it. Soon after, due to a series of poor communications between my then boss, my customers, and myself, I found myself in the Human Resources office being threatened with termination from the company! After 3-years of living, eating and breathing the company, and with good results to show for it, there I was about to be fired. I did not see that coming at all.

But I think I even knew at the time that God was pulling the strings behind the scenes. I think I was feeling exactly how He wanted me to feel about the priorities I had developed during the previous 3 years (and even before that)-- disappointed. I thought-- what's the point? You worship a cause and give it everything you've got for as long as you can, do better than you ever thought you would, and end up in HR, one step away from being fired. At that moment, it didn't take much introspection to decide it was time to look again at how I was approaching life. A year later I had joined a church, was seeking the Lord, reading the Bible daily and trying as best I could to become more like Jesus-- all things that were not happening previously.