Vessels To The Road of Greatness
By Chris L. Gilrath II
“There are so many things that are used as vessels to get us where we need to be in life.” – Mary J. Blige
Sometimes God looks down the road and sees a storm brewing and therefore, he removes you from that situation to keep you out of that storm. God puts situations good in bad in our lives to prepare us for great things. In this life, the creator will remove some things or allow you to go through some things to prepare you for that season of favor. You may not understand that at the time, but as you get older and experience life that revelation will come to you. That is nothing but the power of GOD. I look over the last ten years of my life and am just grateful for the things that have happened in my life good or bad. They were vessels to get me to where I needed to be.
In 2004, I was working at a bank. I was promoted to Branch Manager. There were several branch manager positions that came open but I was passed by until finally I got one! I was excited. It was not for anything other then the prestige and social status that came with that. God gave me the position to prepare me for something bigger, although I did not understand at the time. Ultimately, it was a bad decision but a necessary one. In that position, I was lied on, talked about, and given minimal support, which ultimately led to the termination of my job. I was grateful. It was a very stressful job and it took a huge toll on my health and persona. I was relived but stressed that I lost my job due to lies and two-facedness. However, it was God pulling me in another direction. He pulled me into teaching, which is what I wanted to do anyway. I had wanted to teach for a few years prior to working at the bank, but ignored the calling so this was God’s way of pulling in that direction. I took some classes and worked towards certification. I was hired for a job in the urban core and was overjoyed. I knew I would be teaching for years and years to come.
Well I taught for a few years in the urban school district and loved it but there was also a lot of stress involved within the school district. By my fourth year, I was stressed and overworked as was many of my colleagues. I came home and just crashed on the couch. I would watch television, eat, fall asleep, only to wake up to go bed and repeat the same day. Work got overloaded, there were so many papers to grade, so many things to do. The last year there, there were a lot of problems. Well I lost my job there too due to a certification issue that I thought was going to be okay. I was promised that I would get to stay another year, the district even paid my tuition so I could stay another year. GOD had other plans. Ultimately, the district told me I could not stay and my contract would not be renewed.
When I lost my job, I was depressed. I thought this was what I worked so hard for. I let the devil get the best of me. I felt like a failure and disappointment to everyone who believed in me. Everyone associated my identity with teaching like that was all there was to me. So my thinking was that I let everyone down. When the school year started and I was not there w/ my friends I felt lost. I would sit on the couch and just feel miserable. I begun to worry about how I was going to pay my bills and live. What would people think of me now that I lost my job? Then one night I fell asleep on the couch and woke up to Joyce Meyer on TV. She literally preached to everything I was going through. She mentioned her book Battlefield of the Mind. It spoke to me, I read it and read it, and I began to journal write and reflect. It was truly an awakening. As I was reading the book two scriptures she provided that dealt with worrying really stuck in my head.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has troubles of its on.
Matthew 6:34
It literally felt like Joyce Meyer was speaking directly to me through this book. She was preaching to all of my insecurities, doubts and worries. That scripture really stuck with me. I now use it in every facet of my life and share it with others. Matthew 6:34 really taught me not to worry about tomorrow as has not happened yet. That took me back to working at the bank when I would have anxiety at home worrying about having to go to work the next day. I would go to bed sleep deprived worried. What I realized is that it was robbing me of enjoying that day that the lord gave to me. I gave power to the worrying and issues not only then at the bank but also now worrying about what bill collectors would be calling the next day, what knocks on the door I would get. I would be too scared to fall to sleep due to worry when I had no idea what was in store for me on that day. I should have been in anticipation of another great day that the lord had made. Instead, I was giving in to the devil by all the excessive worrying until I read those scriptures provided by reading the book. I was not trusting to God to fight my battles. Excessive worrying and grief were not making the situation better so I chose to release the worry about money and finances. It was nothing but the devil allowing me to think that I was failure it was my battlefield of the mind.
As it turned out, I had money coming in to sustain me for the months that I needed to figure out my next move. God really began to show the revelation of what he really had in store for me. I had money to pay my bills and that scripture today really still holds true. Nothing worrying can do to make the situation better. Negative feelings and self-doubt really have no place in your life.
Work In Progress
God has begun a great work in me. He will bring to full completion.
Philippians 1:6
I began to write and write a little more and more. Then God gave me ALL of these ideas as I wrote in my journal and dealt with my experiences. I went back to this list that I had created several months ago about pet peeves. At the time, I really had no idea why I generated the list I just wanted to put it out there. It leads me to the revelation that I could be a great writer, author and speaker. God wanted me to use all of my experiences to write and be an author. He wants me to be an influence to those going through what I went through. I am just grateful for what he has given me now. I took all of those pet peeves and discovered there were bigger issues that people deal with on a day to day basis that often go without being addressed. From there, the list turned into my first book, which is destined to be a best seller. I am excited about the work that God has begun in me. It was not without its struggles though. As I continued to grow, I would have setbacks. Every now and then, the self-doubt and feelings of unworthiness would come about. There was days that I felt like I could not accomplish these things. There were days that I would get lazy and comfortable and push the writing away. There were people who did not always understand what I was doing on the journey that I was on, and at times that would be discouraging and those were the days that I felt like quitting, but I had to remember that scripture. God did not begin this work in me for me to give up, he had more work for me to do. I began to understand that it was okay to have those days of self-doubt and concerns or “bad days”, I just could not marinate on them and allow them to block the work and the blessings that God had coming my way. God would not give me this work unless he planed on doing something with it. The work that he has begun in me, only he will bring into full completion.
Several months went by and while I was writing and reflecting, I still felt stagnant. Like I was not really accomplishing my goals and doing what I needed to do. Still, I continued on remembering Philippians 1:6. I was like, “What do I need to do?” “What am I still feeling like things were not going the way I wanted them to? Then it was like a light bulb went on as cliché as that may sound. I knew what I needed to do. For fifteen years, I had wanted to relocate to California but never really acted on it. I would always talk myself out of it, because of my job, friends, and family. I just always found an excuse because Kansas was safe and comfortable. Well, I no longer had a job here to hold me back, some of the dynamics of some of the friendships had changed, and I felt very stagnated. I knew that it was finally time to relocate to L.A. That is where the work that I needed to finish would reach its continuation and completion. After I finally made the decision, I began receiving so many confirmations from God that I was doing the right thing. At the time, I was reading It’s Your Time by Joel Osteen. There were so many as Oprah Winfrey would call “Aha moments!” One of those moments came towards the end of the book when Osteen said:
If you are not growing, if you feel unfulfilled, unsettled, and out of place, it could be that you to need to move on to a better place. There is a place God has designed where opportunities find you, a place where his blessings overtake you.
In the same way, God has a particular place for each one of us, a place where each of us will find our highest purpose, where we will thrive and reflect God’s greatness. He has a specific job for you, in a specific community, where you are surrounded by specific people positioned to help you find fulfillment.
I knew that I was on the right track. It is time for me to move on in my life and move forward and go where I can find my season of favor. Not that I did not my doubts and my nerves did not get to me. This is a major life change and after all Kansas was the only state that I have ever known for thirty-four years, the entire span of my life. Even though I had family and friends out there, I was worried about the family and friends here that I would be leaving behind. One day I had serious doubts about and talked to my friend Karen. After hearing my concerns she sent me two scriptures that she said God had revealed to hear to send to me.
The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
Genesis 12:1-3
“I alone know the plans that I have for you. I have plans to bring you prosperity and not disaster, plans to bring about the future you hope for.”
Jeremiah 29:10
I was just in awe after I read those. God sent that through somebody else to minister to me. It was amazing. That is how GOD works. I am so thankful my friend Karen gave me that. It was more confirmation that God was leading me in this direction and this is what he needs me to do to gain my season of favor. Its amazing how you need clarity on what you are doing from God and need a word and he gives it to you whether it be revealed directly to you or gives it to somebody else to give to you. God has a way of getting his message across. The future I am hoping for is on the right track. While there have been days, the devil tries to convince me that is all a mistake and that the dreams that I have are just going to stay dreams, God sends that confirmation. Jeremiah 29:10 was a great confirmation. Genesis spoke to me about the fear of leaving my family in Kansas behind. I know I will have such a great support system in California and need not to worry.
Now after all these years, I am relocating to Los Angeles. After fifteen years of wanting to do so, its finally here. I am so grateful. I have written my first book and awaiting publication. I have the foundation for several other books, and even an idea for a radio show to spring from this book. None of this would have ever happened had I not had these experiences.
The bank that I was terminated from was shut down due to financial failure. There is so much uncertainty there. The school district I was working at is now doing things that I would want to do. People there are more stressed than they have ever been. And ME, God is moving me into my season of favor. I did not do it on my own. It was nothing but GOD. I was not moving fast enough for him, so he made it happen for me. I am the happiest I have ever been. I am so thankful. My season is here! Yours can be too. Don’t get comfortable. If you are in a place that you do not like, DO SOMETHING about it. If you have a calling on your life answer it. If you have a dream, make it happen. Do not settle. I have done that for far too long and I refuse to do it again! Call on the Lord for revelation and clarity. Only then, will he reveal to you what he needs you to do. He will let you know if you are in the right place. God is always faithful. He stays true to his word and his promises. If you have a dream or a calling that is placed on your life and I believe we all do, step out of that comfort zone and take the Lord with you on the journey as I am about to. I am living my best life and living a blessed life. My season of favor is coming and yours will too. Be blessed in him and believe in yourself and talent and dreams. With God cheering you on, you will never go wrong in your dreams.
Works Cited
Osteen Joel. (2009). It’s Your Time. New York, NY. Free Press.
Zondervan NIV Study Bible. Full ref. ed. Kenneth L. Barker, gen. ed. Grand Rapids,
MI: Zondervan, 2002. Print.