WHEN THE ANSWER COMES IN A PACKAGE WE DON’T LIKE

Jonelle Maxwell

How many times have you prayed concerning life situations but it was not answered the way you expected. In fact, you rejected because it did not come in the package you expected.

If we give an honest answer, we can all say we’ve received an answer in a way we did not want. Sometimes through a person we did not have on our “Most Highly Intellectual Favorite People” list.

I believe God does the unusual with us to keep us in the place of humility or to knock us off our beast because we think of ourselves more highly than we ought. Also, God does this because He does not want us to make an idol of of anyone.

I remember years ago in manufacturing, the Lord gave me a fairly young guy to train. I was not only given the assignment to train him on the job but to teach him in spiritual matters as well. His was quite intelligent, handsome, and gifted. But there was one thing that hindered his growth in many areas in his life…he hated submitting to women in leadership. Not just women in general, but African American women. He even had a problem with dating African American women as well. Although himself is African American. He was always criticizing, downgrading, and kicking against any thing black women had to say in any area.

I often wondered where did he get this attitude from?

I remember giving him specific instructions on some work ethics before being audited. Every time he would reject my instructions and end up with a write up. The management team would tell him to listen to me because I’ve been working with the company for a long time and have proven myself to be a leader with character and integrity.

Eventually he started to listen…WHEN.

During this time, he went down a terrible path of learning but God was able to get the glory out of it all. He started a chase with this young lady he was very eager to “get with”. I told him to leave her alone because something wasn’t right. Every time he would try to meet up with her something would happen to prevent it. One day he and I decided to go for a ride and he told me about the young lady. Come to find out, she called him asking for prayer because she just found out she was diagnosed with HIV.

He told me how glad he was that God was looking out of him and that he will never reject wisdom and godly counsel again. There were other things that happened along the way in this young man’s life to get him to where he is today.

Another time he experienced the death of a young lady he ended up falling in love with. At the beginning of the relationship, he mistreated her because she was African American. Right when he found himself falling in love with her, she was found dead in her apartment one early morning. She was only in her mid twenties.This devastated his life. In fact, this was the turning point in his life. He began to truly change. God transformed his life completely.

Now, he is married to an African American woman with a daughter. He is walking side by side with his wife in ministry and have traveled to Kenya for missionary evangelism.

This young man was in pursuit in finding answers for his life. He was young and did not quite know what to do. He petitioned God for answers, but had no idea how the answers was going to come. In his case, God needed to work out the main thing that was hindering his life because he had purpose and within that person was an African American wife. Not saying God could not have allowed him to marry someone of another culture and ethnicity because he could have. But, he was asking for God’s perfect will not His permissive will.

Sometimes, we ask God for life answers not knowing how it may come. God has a way in changing ALL our lives for the better by bringing us to a place of humility so He can get the full glory out of our lives. Today, I say, do not reject the answer because of the package. Besides, you never know what God have in mind which is His best.

RECEIVE THE PACKAGE!