Don’t let your past define your future

We all make mistakes and go through dark times in our lives, but I pray that we don't let our past define our future. It is God who is at work in us.

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I used to work as an Operations Manager for a telecommunications company, which at times was very stressful, however it was during my time working there that I fully understood God's amazing grace; 2 Corinthians 12:9 ‘But he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness’, and the true meaning of Psalm 23. I had a team of people working for me, covering a number of different disciplines and I was responsible for business customers all over the UK outside of the M25. As time went on certain people within the team had ambitions to progress into more senior positions and sought any form of advancement they could to achieve this. Advancement in itself is not a problem as it is natural for people to want to progress within a workplace. However as time went on it became clear that a number of people became very competitive, which started to effect working relationships in ways that were becoming detrimental to the team. In such situations it is very easy for people to allow themselves to be manipulated by Satan, especially those whose desire is to climb the corporate ladder, even at the expense of others. This was the case with at least two of my team as I found out to my detriment; 1 Peter 5:8 ‘Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour’. 

One of the two people came to me one day to complain about one of the Engineers saying that he was becoming aggressive and that he and other Engineers were fed up with his attitude. I decided to address this by speaking to the Engineer (the one being complained about), shortly afterwards in an appraisal meeting, to find out his thoughts and to see if he agreed with the comments being made about him. During the meeting he became very angry and stormed out of the office and even made an official complaint about me which was then investigated at some length by my Manager and the company Human Resources Department. The Investigation should have been concluded within four to eight weeks but in this instance it took sixteen weeks and during this time he became more and more difficult to manage.

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After the investigation was over I discovered that the person who originally instigated the complaint had denied approaching me. My team Supervisor then tried to use the situation to try to make sure I was sacked so he could take my job (he even spoke to my Manager behind my back, suggesting this) and at the same time the person who had originally instigated the complaint was positioning himself for the team Supervisors job. The situation became so stressful that I made up my mind to resign as I had no one I could go to within the company for advice and I was at my wits end. Even though through all of this I had been seeking God's help and strength, I felt completely abandoned and so in a prayer meeting at Church I asked the Elders to pray for me as I had decided to leave the company and I wanted to know where God wanted me to go next. God spoke through the Elders and told me ‘I had to stand firm’, which was not something I wanted to hear. I received confirmation of this Word the next morning when God spoke to me through His Word from Isaiah 7:9 'If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all’. This completely floored me when it dawned on me that I couldn't run away. So I surrendered to God's will and went back to work, trusting Him for a righteous outcome. Not long after this incident God miraculously turned the whole situation on its head. All the accusations that had been made about me were proved to be false and the people who had jumped on the proverbial band wagon to advance their careers had to eat humble pie. I was completely exonerated on all counts. Shortly after this the Engineer who had brought the false accusations against me left the company, also leaving a great deal of animosity between us. When I looked back and reflected on the whole situation I realised that I was not without blame in the way that I had originally handled the situation.

I never saw the Engineer again but I always felt bad about the way it had ended. About six months later. Mine and all of the other Installation Managers jobs were made redundant, and I was led by God to run a charity shop and care centre with my wife. It was whilst we were there that I asked God to bring me into contact with this Engineer again as I wanted to apologise for some of my actions and attitudes towards him when he left the company and to let him know that I had no animosity towards him and that I had forgiven him for his actions. This would have to be a miracle as he lived many miles away and there was no way I could contact him. Then one day he was sent on a job just a few miles from where our shop was and he decided to come and see me, as he walked into the charity shop I immediately greeted him and was able to reconcile with him. We both forgave each other and parted at peace with one another, I've not seen or heard from him from that day to this, but at the very moment we forgave each other a great weight was lifted from me. God's grace is even more amazing when you realise that this engineer was not a Christian.

We all make mistakes and go through dark times in our lives, but I pray that we don't let our past define our future. It is God who is at work in us. Ephesians 3:20-21‘Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen’.

Psalm 23:3 tells us; 'He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for His Name's sake’.

God bless you.

Author:Kevin Hunt

May God bless and enrich your life

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