Agent of Chaos or Angel in Disguise?

Posted by: Jenny Baker, Content Writer and Communications Coordinator | Monday, February 17th, 2025 (12:00am)

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. — Jeremiah 29:11-12

Many years ago, I unexpectedly quit my job.

“Unexpectedly quit” meaning that when I went into work that day, I didn’t know that I’d make an abrupt decision to leave and never come back. It was not in the plan. It was not in my character. It was not something I ever thought I would do.

And it was completely devastating.

It all started a few months before when the organization’s leadership changed. A long-time employee, I was excited to learn I’d be moving to a different role with more responsibility under a new boss. Young and career-focused, I viewed this change as a step up the corporate ladder to big and better things. It was terribly exciting.

Until it wasn’t.

I quickly discovered that my new boss had his own ideas about the direction of our department, and most of those plans didn’t seem to include existing staff. One by one I watched as coworkers I cared deeply about were let go so that new talent could be brought in. Every week I’d come to work wondering, “Am I next?”

My new boss reassured me he wasn’t going to let me go. And he didn’t. Yet, something wasn’t working. Despite saying he thought I was talented, he hated everything I produced. In team meetings he’d make hurtful comments to others that left me wondering if I was crazy because no one else seemed to notice. When I’d speak with him one on one, I found myself walking away in tears over and over again.

He was just…mean.

Finally, after a particularly bad interaction, something inside me broke and I walked out the company doors. I never went back. And I thought life was completely over.

But what I didn’t know then was that God’s hands were over the entire situation.

See, earlier that year one of my children was diagnosed with a life-threatening medical issue, sparking an intense desire to leave my job so I could stay home full-time. In the midst of the crisis the idea seemed non-negotiable, yet once we realized our child would be okay, doubts quickly crept in over how realistic the thought was. There’s “just no way” we could make ends meet without my income. How could we possibly pay our mortgage and stay in the house we were in? Not to mention pulling myself out of the workforce for any length of time would eliminate the possibility of a similar career in the future. While it seemed like a great idea initially, when we crunched the numbers we decided it just wasn’t possible. So back to work I went.

But God knew deep inside that desire to spend more time with my kids remained. And I believe He worked through my new boss as a means to make it happen. He knew that it would take something – or in this case someone – pretty severe to make me take a risk. And He was right; had my new boss not entered my life, I would have never left. But Scripture tells us that God has a plan for each one of us. Those plans are not only designed to provide “a future and a hope,” but they are also often designed to point us closer toward Him.

God heard the cries of my heart even when I didn’t realize I was calling to Him (at this time I did not yet have a personal relationship with Jesus – a story for another time!). And as promised, He gave me “a future and a hope.” But He gave me so much more.

He gave me the next ten years to be at home with my son and daughter full-time. Ten years of living on one income. Ten years of remaining in the same house. Ten years of successfully making ends meet. Ten years that would eventually lead me to Jesus.

He even gave me a better job than I had before when I decided it was the right time to pursue my career once again.

Today, when I reflect on that time of my life I don’t view my new boss with resentment but with gratitude. I will always be convinced that he was used by God to push me onto a new path. A path I wanted but would never have had the courage to take without him. It is because of him that when I encounter difficult people, I try to remember to ask myself, “What might God be trying to teach me through this person?”

Because whether we realize it or not, God is always present and actively working through each one of us. He might be working through you to shine His light to someone else, but He may also be working through someone else to carry out His plan for you. And sometimes that someone else may be the last person you’d expect. But trust that God is placing challenging people and circumstances in your path for a reason. Chances are, He has an amazing gift waiting for you on the other side of it.