There Goes That Man

by Jennifer Greene-Sullivan

This week, I received a phone call that would have excited me eleven years ago.

The offer was flattering. The compensation was appealing. By the world’s standards, it was the kind of opportunity many people would pursue without hesitation. Yet when I hung up the phone, I found myself feeling something unexpected.

I was unexpectedly emotional.

Not because the offer was bad. Quite the opposite. I love both school systems involved in this story. I love the communities, the students, the teachers, and the administrators. I have invested years of my life into both places and count many of those relationships among God’s blessings in my life.

As I sat quietly reflecting on the conversation, I realized my emotional response had very little to do with the offer itself. Instead, it revealed something deeper about the work God has done in my heart.

Eleven years ago, I might have chased the title. I might have chased the recognition. I might have chased the money. At that time in my life, I often confused opportunity with calling and assumed every open door deserved my attention.

Yet, the story really began long before that moment of surrender so many years ago.

Eleven years ago was not the day I was saved. Jesus saved me as a young girl, and the Holy Spirit sealed me as His own. Yet eleven years ago, lying in my bed in Roddy, Georgia, crying myself to sleep, I finally surrendered something I had been clutching for years.

Myself.

My will.

My pride.

My plans.

For the first time, I admitted what God had known all along. I had no answers. I could not fix the broken places in my life. I could not heal my own heart. I could not rescue myself.

Looking back, I sometimes wonder if that was the day I finally began to understand grace. Perhaps a finite mind can never fully comprehend such a gift, but that night, I awakened to something I had never fully seen before that moment. I awakened to the holiness of the One I had invited into my heart so many years earlier.

I stopped clinging to Jennifer.

I started clinging to Jesus.

The transformation that followed did not happen overnight. It happened one act of surrender at a time. One lesson at a time. One step of obedience at a time. Yet, when I compare the woman I was then to the woman I am now, I am overwhelmed by the goodness of God.

When I accepted my position at Wilcox, it was not simply because a job became available. It was because God made a way where there appeared to be no way. At a time when both the school and I had needs, the Lord opened a door that no person could have orchestrated. Looking back, I can see His fingerprints all over the process.

The road has not been perfect. There have been challenges, difficult conversations, and moments when obedience carried a cost. Yet through every circumstance, I have experienced something far more valuable than comfort.

I have experienced His faithfulness.

Yesterday, Chris told me to take whichever position offered the most money. From a practical standpoint, his advice made perfect sense. Most people compare salaries, benefits, and opportunities for advancement when making a decision. Yet, education has never felt that way to me.

The truth is that I would have gladly performed many of those responsibilities regardless of the compensation because the work itself matters. Meeting a need matters. Serving students matters. Being where God has assigned me matters.

As I prayed about the phone call, my thoughts drifted to Paul and Silas. After an earthquake shook the prison, the doors opened and the chains fell away. Every practical reason suggested they should run. Every logical argument pointed toward escape.

Yet, they stayed.

For years, I focused on the miracle. Today, I find myself focused on the men’s obedience. Paul and Silas were not directed by opportunity. They were directed by purpose.

The open door was real; it simply was not their assignment.

That truth reminded me of something I have been reading in the book of Amos. Again and again, God calls His people back to justice and righteousness, and He warns them not to confuse prosperity with His approval or success with faithfulness.

The older I become, the more convinced I am that the enemy rarely tempts believers with obviously destructive things. More often, he dangles golden carrots in front of us and waits to see whether we can distinguish between a good opportunity and a God opportunity.

The offer itself was never the issue; the issue was whose voice I would follow.

As I reflected on the conversation, a song I have been singing for two weeks came to mind. Again and again, I found myself returning to the same line: “There goes that Man. He still creates SOMETHING out of NOTHING.”

The older I become, the more I realize that every meaningful testimony in my life points back to Him. He is still the God who makes a way where there appears to be no way. He is still the God who opens doors that no one can shut and closes doors that no one can open.

Most of all, He is still the God who makes something out of nothing.

Earlier today, I laughed as I told Anya that my principals probably have no idea that I do not have two brain cells to rub together. The older I become, the more convinced I am that anything good in my life is evidence of God’s grace rather than my own ability.

Whatever wisdom I possess, He gives.

Whatever opportunities have come my way, He opened.

Whatever fruit has grown from my life has grown because He planted it, watered it, and sustained it.

The truth is that I have very little of my own to offer. When I look back over the last eleven years, I see countless places where my own strength, wisdom, and ability were not enough. Yet, over and over again, Jesus stepped into impossible situations and wrote a story that only He could write.

There goes that Man again.

Making a way.

Providing.

Leading.

Transforming.

Creating something out of nothing.

As I reflected on the phone call, I found myself overwhelmed with gratitude. Eleven years ago, I may have been driven by ambition. Today, I am led by peace. Eleven years ago, I may have measured success by titles and salaries. Today, I measure success by obedience.

What a gift.

What a miracle.

What a Savior.

Ultimately, all I want from this life is to hear Jesus say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” If I cannot hear that, I do not want it. Because I have discovered something far greater than titles, money, opportunities, or recognition.

I am chosen.

I am favored.

I am His.

And after eleven years of walking in surrender, I am amazed at what He has done in my life. He has made me new.

The offer was not the blessing.

THE TRANSFORMATION IS.

And the Transformer is worthy of every ounce of praise, every ounce of worship, and every ounce of my surrender.

Praise the name of Yeshua HaMashiach.

Scriptural Focus

John 10:27 (ESV)

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”

Amos 5:24 (ESV)

“But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”

2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV)

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

Revelation 5:12 (ESV)

“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!”

Reflection

Salvation and surrender are closely connected, yet they are not the same experience. Many believers can point to a moment when they trusted Christ for salvation. They can also point to seasons when they learned to trust Him more deeply with their lives.

The Lord often transforms us one act of surrender at a time. As we release our plans, pride, and self-reliance, we discover that His grace is greater than we imagined. Looking back, we begin to recognize His fingerprints on moments that once seemed ordinary.

Challenge

Take time this week to reflect on where God has transformed your heart. What once held your attention that no longer has the same power? What opportunities, fears, or ambitions have been replaced by peace and trust? Thank Him for the evidence of His work in your life.

Prayer

Father,

Thank You for saving me and for continuing to transform me. Thank You for Your grace that meets me in my weakness and Your faithfulness that sustains me through every season. Help me to recognize Your voice above every other voice competing for my attention. Teach me to value obedience over opportunity and faithfulness over recognition. May I follow You wherever You lead and trust You in every circumstance. Thank You for making me new. Thank You for choosing me, favoring me, and calling me Your own. May my life bring glory to the One who is worthy of all praise, all honor, all worship, and all surrender. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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