Every Problem Will Change You

“For I know the plans that I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.” 
Jeremiah 29:11

Recently, I was talking to a super successful salesperson.  His income is in the six-figure bracket. When I inquired about his training, I was surprised to learn that his degree is in history and education.  He explained, “The truth is that I was a very boring teacher.  Because I was boring, my students were restless and I failed to communicate to them.  I was a boring teacher because I was a bored teacher.  My boredom rubbed off on the students.  It was not a good situation.  Because I had a problem with students, my contract was not renewed – actually I was fired.  When the school fired me, I became so angry I decided to go out and make something of myself.  I went out and landed a better job.”

And then he shared a gem of a line.  He looked at me with flashing eyes and said, “I had to get fired before I got fired up!”  He went on to explain.  “Basically, I was too lethargic.  My contract cancellation jolted me out of a lazy rut.  I’ll always be grateful that I was fired, for it made me angry enough at myself to get up and get going.”

It is all in our attitude whether we see God’s unexpected blessings – especially if we get fired from our job.  A valuable lesson is that good can come from failure – yes, even failure.   Most of us regard failure as the end of the road, but God says it is only a new fork in the road, a beginning to greater blessings.  Can we open our eyes to see the twist in the pavement and abandon our tunnel vision?  Just as this man was relieved of something that did not suit him, we may find ourselves in a better job or situation that may be revealed through failure.