Rachel hung up the phone, stunned. Never in a million years did she think they wouldn’t renew her contract. What was she going to do now? Sure, she knew it was a temporary job. And yes, she was living in an extended-stay hotel, so this clearly wasn’t permanent, but they’d led her to believe she’d be here for at least a year, or 6 months at a minimum. Now, after only three months, she’d have to move back in with her parents. She needed some chocolate.

She rummaged through the cabinets in the small kitchenette. Nothing. Uggh. She’d have to head down the block to the convenience store. After grabbing her phone and purse, she closed the door behind her in search of some delicious comfort.

Halfway down the block, her friend Janet approached, walking her little brown dog, Leo. After a minute, they met up, and Rachel reached down to pet Leo. Janet noticed her expression immediately.

“What’s wrong?” Janet asked.

Rachel sighed. “My contract isn’t getting renewed, and without it, there’s no way for me to stay here in the city. I’ll have to move back with my parents until I find another job.”

Janet’s face fell. “Oh, I’m sorry. We knew this was temporary, but I thought you had more time.”

“You and me both,” Rachel said.

Janet’s brow wrinkled. “Well, you said you couldn’t see yourself doing that job long term.”

“I know. It’s not the job so much that bothers me, but that I have to move. Away from friends like you, and from the church,” Rachel said. “I don’t understand why God would do this. Everything was going so well with the youth ministry at church. I’d just gotten to the point where the kids were opening up to me. It’s the best ministry opportunity I’ve ever had. Why would God want me to leave?”

Janet pulled Leo away from a passerby and guided them both to a bench further down the sidewalk. She sat and patted the bench next to her, and Rachel joined her. Janet was silent for a moment, her eyes closed. When she reopened them, Rachel cocked her head at her. “Everything OK?”

Janet grinned. “Yes. God is good. I just sent up a quick prayer for wisdom, and he gave me a story for you. Philip and the Ethiopian.”

Rachel stared blankly at Janet. “I don’t know that one.”

“It’s perfect for your situation,” Janet said.

“Did Philip lose his contract, too?”

Janet laughed and lifted Leo to her lap. “Kind of. Philip was preaching about Jesus and people were getting saved. He was casting out demons and healing people. It was an amazing ministry. Then God told him to travel south to the desert, just when everything seemed to be going really well.”

Rachel leaned towards Janet. “You’re right. That’s just like what’s happening with me. What happened? Why did God want him to leave when he was reaching so many people?”

Janet continued. “God had a plan. Believe it or not, He took Philip out of the town where he was helping lots of people just to reach one man.”

“Really?” Rachel asked. “That’s kind of cool, actually.”

“It is. Philip met an Ethiopian man. The man was seeking the one true God, but didn’t understand the scriptures. God knew the Ethiopian was truly seeking him, but there wasn’t anyone around to explain the scriptures to him, so He sent Philip. And because Philip was obedient, that man carried the gospel to Africa.”

“Wait. So Philip left his ministry, talked to one guy, and that guy took the gospel to an entire continent? Wow,” Rachel said. “I guess God has a plan after all. I’ll miss being here, but I can’t wait to see what God will do next with my life!”

Acts 8 verses 5-8, and 26-39

Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there.  When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said.  For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed.  So there was great joy in that city.

 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”

Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.

“How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading:

“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
    so he did not open his mouth.  In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.
    Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.”

 

The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.

As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?”  And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing.

God, sometimes we don’t understand Your ways. But just because they don’t make sense to us doesn’t mean You’re not working. Thank You for having a wonderful plan for our lives. Please help us trust You, even when we don’t understand. In Jesus’ name, Amen.