In my early working career, I liked my job in administration at a new hospital, but a big brand new company moved to town. They had an opening for a human resources director, and I interviewed. The vice president said his boss’s daughter applied, and it was between the two of us. In the meantime, other jobs came available, and I applied for those. The interviews were positive, and I was sure I would be hired for one of them.

I had prayed about this change, and I didn’t understand when I wasn’t chosen for any of them. Why had I been called back for second interviews and not one of them panned out? What was God trying to teach me?

A prominent doctor came to my office, and he told me his neighbor was the vice president who had interviewed me. He said the man wanted to hire me, but his boss made him hire his daughter. This doctor asked me not to leave. I was upset the doctor found out.

Then the chief operating officer told me he was the other neighbor to this vice president. He asked why I was leaving. He also wanted me to stay. I did stay, and the raises and opportunities were good. A year later, the big company I’d been to for interviews didn’t succeed, and a large number of employees were let go, including the vice president of human resources!

The lesson I learned was that the grass wasn’t greener on the other side, and I should appreciate the plans the Lord had for me right where I was working. He already knew this would happen. I thanked the Lord for taking care of me—and telling me no.

Are you struggling to understand why the Lord has told you no? We may not know right away why God says no to a request, but we can rest assured God has our best interest at heart.

Molly Jebber writes Amish historical romance. Her award-winning books have made Publisher’s Weekly Best Ten List, live interviews on news sites, and received near excellent ratings from RT, and featured in USA HEA. She’s a national speaker for Women’s Christian Connection and guest lecturer at Ohio State University, libraries and conferences on writing, publishing, and marketing. She loves God, her family, and friends.