Good morning, everyone.
Our verse for today comes from Acts 6:5, “And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit.”
My place of employment is currently looking to hire new employees, specifically in the areas of sales and human resources. And seeing as we are a produce company, those doing the hiring of sales people are most interested in finding folks who have experience in produce. To be more accurate, they are hoping to find sales people who have a customer base already established so that they might be able to bring with them some new, immediate business to add to our current sales activity. The hiring manager for human resources also has a wish list that she hopes to have fulfilled by her new employee. She is looking for someone who has a set amount of experience in HR, certain certifications, and the ability to speak Spanish. Though not involved in either of these processes, I do know that the need has existed and the search has been going on for a while now, but no one has yet been signed on. So, the situation being what it is, those in charge can either keep doing what they have been, or they can make some adjustments to their process. They can keep holding out for the perfect applicant who checks every requirement box, or they can ease off of some stipulations and find the best available person sooner rather than later, or never.
Now, I don’t know how much of an exact fit the seven men were that were chosen to manage the business of the early church. Where the apostles were looking for seven who were of good reputation, and full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, they selected Stephen, who was full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and six others who were presumably as well. These descriptions might be another example of scripture saying the same thing in different ways, and what we are reading is merely semantics. Or it might be the case where the apostles thought they must choose based off of a certain list, but the Lord led them to select from a different pool. Regardless, what we need to be reminded of is that the Lord is not bound by our preconceptions, nor by our missteps. If we will keep seeking Him throughout, releasing the results to Him, He will make of it what He wants. To be sure, that is His job and His alone.
As we seek Him today, put in the time and the effort, covered in prayer, and leave the results up to your heavenly Father. And receive the peace that this exchange offers.
Have a sweet Monday.
#4 Rich Holt
Dad of Ripken, Koy, TrishaJean, Samantha, Kakie Holiday and Raleigh
Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them.
