Way Maker

 

 

Chanel Abrams , CBN Network

I was the happiest I’d ever been with the job I was doing. I was a recruiter turned training specialist at a telecom company. I had recently struck out on my own, getting my first apartment in my early 20s. I also served as the right hand to my pastor, with many responsibilities. One of them was to feed and clothe the homeless in the area.

One day the director of human resources called me in for a meeting. Surely, she was going to tell me about a new initiative that she wanted me to head, or report on the progress of the last one. But it was nothing of the kind—she told me that I was being laid off in July. When I heard the news, I was surprised but not worried about finding another job. I began looking for another job with no luck. I couldn’t understand how it was so difficult to find a job. I mean, it was my job to find jobs!

Then the 9/11 attacks happened. This made finding work even harder. I was collecting unemployment, which was barely enough to pay my rent. During this time, I continued to serve at my church faithfully. The same food pantry that I used to run to serve the homeless became the main source to sustain me.

Another expense was my car payment. It needed to be paid and I just didn’t have the money for it. As I sat down to open the mailing from car my loan company, I was expecting to see a notification of late payment or repossession. Instead, it read, “it has been determined that you are in the area considered to be effected by the events of 9/11 and your payments have been deferred to the end of your loan.”

This was one of the many ways God would provide for me (Isaiah 43:19). This experience allowed me to know the Lord as Jehovah Jireh (Genesis 22:13). I was never without anything for over a year without a job. I didn’t know how God was going to work things out for me, but I knew that He would—and He did! I trusted Him with my life, and He showed Himself strong and mighty (Proverbs 3:5-6).

For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland. (Isaiah 43:19)

Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. (Proverbs 3:5-6 NLT)