Not Now God I Just Bought a House
By: Gayle Kurtzer-Meyers
Tags: Spiritual, Christianity, Lessons Learned, Scripture, Koinonia

“You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:5–8, NLT)

Lailah loved the Lord; she did. She was thankful for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which made it possible for her to have a personal relationship with God, the Father. She was intentional about living a life that pleased the Lord. She worked hard, was generous, and loved to have fun. Lailah was well-liked by her colleagues and bosses at work and was the darling of her family.

These were all the reasons the email she was staring at made no sense whatsoever.

Dear Lailah Hughes, Over the last five years, you have been an incredible asset to our organization. You have shown commitment and dedication in the direst circumstances, and we thank you. As you are aware, the company has fallen on hard times of late, and at this point we cannot afford to keep you on staff. We thank you for your loyal and diligent service and would be more than happy to write an excellent letter of recommendation for you. We wish you all the best. Sincerely, Jake Bell

Lailah couldn’t bring her mind to comprehend what she was reading! How could she be fired? She was one of the company’s greatest assets! Jake Bell, the CEO, had told her so several times. What did he even mean by the company falling on hard times? She knew for a fact that the company was doing just fine! Sure, they were only breaking even for a few months, but the profit margins were back up.

She was still numb as she packed up her items and said goodbye to her colleagues. She was still in a daze when she got home, and finally, the shock gave way to anger.

“Why me Lord?!” Lailah screamed. “I’ve served You faithfully, and I’ve been diligent in my work. Why is this happening now? You know I just bought a new house. What am I going to do now?” She sobbed.

Two days later, she reluctantly opened the door to my persistent knocking.

“Honey, I’ve been so worried about you! No one has heard from you, and when I went to look for you at the office, they told me you had been let go. I’m so sorry sweetie,” I said and gathered Lailah in her arms.

“I lost my job Gayle how could God let this happen?”

“Not now, God, I just bought a house,” Lailah cried.

I let my friend cry and then gently steered her in the direction of the shower.

“Take a bath and freshen up. I’ll clean up and make you dinner,” I told her.

An hour later, we were sipping chamomile tea, and I asked, “How do you feel now?”

“Cleaner, and a little more calm,” Lailah quipped. “Honestly? I’m still mad at God.” She said.

“Why?” I asked.

“Well, He’s all knowing isn’t He? Why didn’t He stop the company from firing me, or at the very least, have another job lined up for me? It’s so unfair that I’m out of a job just a month after getting this big mortgage.”

“Okay. So you feel you deserve better.”

“Yes! I love the Lord, I’m generous, I live holy and I work hard! Didn’t He say He would bless the work of our hands? I don’t see the blessing in this, do you?” Lailah huffed.

“Did Jesus deserve to die?” I blurted out.

Lailah was taken aback by this question, so she said, “I don’t understand.”

“You heard me. Jesus was the only man who never sinned, yet He died the cruelest death. And He did it for me and you. Did He deserve to die?” I asked again.

“Um, we all know He didn’t,” Lailah replied.

“So do you think it was fair that God sent Him to the world to pay for my sins and yours?”

“No, it wasn’t.”

“So tell me why then did He submit Himself to the Father’s will?”

“He loved us so much that he couldn’t stand to be separated from us for all eternity,” Lailah whispered.

“Do you now see how your current line of reasoning makes you sound like a spoiled brat?” I asked gently. We were close friends and could be frank with each other like this.

“Yes,” Lailah replied, her eyes beginning to well up with tears. This time, they weren’t angry tears, but tears of gratitude and repentance.

Lailah didn’t realize until then that she was quite prideful. She assumed entitlement to a trouble-free life because she was a believer in Jesus Christ. She had forgotten Jesus himself said that we would have trouble in this world, but we should rejoice because He had overcome the world.

She remembered something her Pastor had said in his sermon a little over a week ago.

“Humility will cost you. It will cost you pride and a low life. Oh, but the rewards are incredibly greater and more eternal. When you humble yourself before God, He himself will lift you up. This means that you get to have a more intimate relationship with Him, and you get to live the life He’s planned for you from before the beginning of time.

We have the perfect example in Jesus, being God, the only begotten Son of God the Father. Yet He let all that go and became a mere mortal like you and me, so He could be the perfect sacrifice for us! Now, He has a name that is far above every other name, and every knee will bow down and confess Him as Lord of all.”

Lailah convicted herself. She had mapped out her life trajectory and not included the One who made her and had the best plan for her well being.

She didn’t know what the future held, but she was okay with that. She knew the One who did, and she chose to believe that God would bring good out of her situation.