…But the Lord was my support.—2 Samuel 22:19 (NASB)

The phone call was unexpected and upsetting. “I didn’t get the job.” It was a dream position for a beloved family member. The rigorous application process successfully completed. The personal teaching video well received. Hours of work in each. There was the detailed internet interview. And later the new boss’s encouraging words, “We knew after your interview we wanted to hire you first.” 

The former job was over—with the invitation, “Come back anytime.” My family member had thought that wouldn’t be necessary. Training for the dream position began in a week. 

Then the crushing moment. Tripped up in the last requirement. A six-month hiring delay. Back to the previous less-fulfilling job. Thankful it was there—yet devastated over the loss, hopefully temporary, of the new one. 

What encouragement could I bring? I thought of Jesus’s disciple Peter. It was night. He and the others were rowing against the wind in the Sea of Galilee. Jesus came walking toward them on the water, which frightened them. 

Peter wanted Jesus to call him to come to Him, if it was really Him. He did, and Peter started out on the waves just fine. But then he looked around at the storm and got scared and began to sink. He took his eyes off Jesus. 

“This is a time to ‘walk on water,’” I told my distraught family member. It was a time to keep Jesus front and center amid the waves of disappointment that threatened. A time for trusting Him to provide in the now and to bring about the best future outcome.