Onesimus Revolution

Psalm 138:8 The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me.

I love watching God's plans and purposes unfold. Sometimes it feels like we are supposed to go after God's plans and then battle through to make it happen. My experience is more about being passenger than driver. Watching it unfold and being quite passive.

To inadequatley summarize a very long and multi-layered story...I returned from Kansas City with the dream of Philemon. Being like Onesimus whose name means profitable but he had become a cause of financial loss of Philemon. He was sent back to be a 'slave' but no longer as a slave but as a brother. In Christ we are all slaves (to Christ), and all free from passing labels.

For me this worked itself out as being going back to my Law firm, a place i had run from, albeit I believe God was in it and fulfilling his purpose in my leaving as much as in my returning. I found myself at the same firm, same department, same secretary, dare I say ut some of the same ongoing cases! I received a prophecy in February 2005 that I had been trapped before and I would be trapped again. For me this was going back to the previous employer like Philemon in the story. There was also to be an available grace.

I won't talk now about some of the wonderful people I have met there and whos elives are being transformed by a real living and interactive Jesus, but this is part of that outflowing grace mentioned above.

IN the last 6 months it has become progressively harder at work to keep doing it for Jesus. The song on my lips had been, 'its not what I do, it is who I do it for'. But that is difficult to maintain when you are in an environment that is at times very self-seeking, political and quite frankly unfair. For example, one colleague 'a fellow slave' had become a supervisor whilst I was away and now used this position to apparently damage as opposed to serve. I would work with all my heart for jesus and the credit would be taken. I would keep my case load up to date and then I would receive a 'hospital pass' and deal with problems. There were countless other things which so damaged the moral in the team and dented my own courage.

It was almost as if God was testing what he had written on my heart. If I am doing it for Jesus alone then these things shouldn't present any problems. The truth is, I was obviously still looking for human reward.

One particular colleage was/is struggling so much and I found her being targeted rather than loved and encouraged. In fact things were happening that could actually damage her career overall.

about 2 weeks ago I hit rock bottom because it all felt unjust. I related to the things David said, about why do the wicked prosper? How do they become supervisors?? It feels unjust. Haze and I were talking about it and she was challenging me to speak up for myself to the big boss about what was really going on in the department and to fight my case.

No guy wants his wife to think he is a door mat and weak. But, I have been thinking about meekness alot these last 6-9 months. I wanted to be a bit like david who could have killed his enemy saul but wanted God to fight his battles. People say meekness isn;t weakness. I disagree. I think it is voluntary weakness and place of foolishness. The meek will inherit the earth but right now they get a pretty tough time of it. Like Paul said, if there were no resurrection and 'after' then the here and now is all a bit ridiculous. To follow God we need to be pegged to the after.

Well, I decided not to fight my corner and be weak and frustrated. I can;t say I walked into it joyfully and full of peace either. It just felt right.

Well, the very next day 12 hours later, the boss called me in on another matter we ended up talking and he said he had been wanting to speka to me for weeks about me leading a team. He said he had seen the way I looked after people and knew I would excel in that kind of position. I was shocked and overwhelemed. I then got to fight for my struggling colleague to paint a pictue other than the one that had been painted by a supervisor. I was able to say that I believed in her and that she needed encouragement.

One thing led to another and within 7 days I have a team of 6 people and I have been given another office in another building away from the politics. And My colleague who has been making things difficult now has only one team member because most of them have been placed under my supervision. Amazing.

And, the project i have been given is to make a historically loss making type of work profitable. IN law almost everything is profitable. The one non profitable department has been given to me to turn around. Amazing. Onesimus means profitable and he was sent back and Paul promised he would be profitable. This means that it is going to work and we are going to be profitable!!

I feel once again amazed at the wisdom of God. he takes foolish things and does extraordinary things with them. I am so excited at the prospect of loving these 6 people well. creating a working environment if prayer unlike any they have ever experienced. A place of compassion, laughter and encouragement. Maybe, just maybe they will come to Know Jesus for themselves. I started off by saying I have been a passenger in all this stuff and it carries on. That is not some kind of humilty but the real truth. I had no idea what God was up to.

The story continues....