Lately I’ve been struggling. If you’ve read any of my past articles, you’ve probably picked up on that. Like I’ve said before, I’m frustrated with trying to figure out God’s plan for me. It seems like everything I do or want to do, God shuts that door and leaves me standing in the hallway, wondering what to do next.

I opened my Bible one day and read the story of Jephthah. Jephthah is the illegitimate son of Gilead. His mother is a prostitute, but his dad (Gilead) has other sons with his wife. Jephthah half brothers basically kicked him out of their home and the city of Gileadate just because his mother was a prostitute. Jephthah was punished for circumstances he could not control. He suffered as a result of his father’s decision and not for any wrong he had done. But guess what? God uses him. In fact, God uses him in a big way.The town leaders ask Jephthah to become a leader when Isreal goes to battle against the Ammonites. Jephthah leads the town to battle that once turned away from him. He was stuck in the hallway. He was abandoned by his family, and everything familiar was taken away from him. Jephthah trusted God that while he was in the hallway, and God opened a door for him.

I want faith like Jephthah. I feel like I’ve been stuck in the hallway for a while now, but I haven’t been trusting God. But the most beautiful thing about God is that even when you start to lose trust in him, he will still open a door for you.

I’ve been on the hunt for a job. I didn’t want to go home for the summer. I wanted to stay in my college town and work. The day before I left to go home for the summer, I got a call from a place I’ve wanted to work at for a while, asking me to come in and work that day. I was so excited! I landed the job I’ve been wanting, and I get to stay in my college town all summer. At the end of my first day, the boss looked at me and said, “Thanks for all your help today, it was such a busy weekend. We’ll mail you, your check.” "Oh. Ouch,"I thought to myself. Frustrated that I didn’t get the job I wanted, frustrated that I had to go home for the summer, and frustrated that this was icing on the cake to an already tough semester, I cried. And cried and cried and cried and cried. I sat in my car crying, and then I yelled out to God, “What is your plan for me? Everything I want, you close that door and leave me in the hallway!" I can hear God now, saying, “Oh, ye of little faith.”

When I got home, the doors began to fly open. The first day I was home, I was offered a position to volunteer at a Young Life for the month of July. I loved Young Life in high school and couldn’t want to help give kids the same experience I had when going to camp. A few days later, I got an email saying I had an interview a job I applied for a while ago. Long story short, I got the job. And it just so happened to end on June 30.

Oh, ye of little faith. I didn’t get the job I wanted because God wanted me to do something more. He had greater plans for me, and I felt stuck in the hallway. In reality, I should have been praising him. Whenever you feel stuck in the hallway, know that there’s so much more in store for you. So much more is coming your way, even though were not always able to see it.