The Real Résumé
And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations; knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint . . . Romans 5:3-5 NASB
Exult – The NASB chose “exult” perhaps because the other translation of the Greek word kauchaomai has inappropriate contemporary nuances. In its usual translation, we would find “boast,” but Christian moral teaching treats boasting as sinful, so we have to find another word to express Paul’s statement. Nevertheless, let’s consider what Paul is saying when we treat kauchaomai as “boast.”
Start by asking yourself about your résumé. Isn’t the résumé a written boasting? Doesn’t it attempt to put you in the best light possible, to enhance your image in the world, to (perhaps) stretch things just a bit in your favor? What employer will hire someone who presents a résumé of failures, or one that indicates lack of skills? Most of us have, at one time or another, perfected our personal boasting papers. With that in mind, let’s add Paul’s declaration.
Write a résumé of your suffering. Write down all those things that went wrong, that failed, the caused you harm, that brought distress and discomfort. Write them down as you would write a résumé, not an obituary. Write them down as God’s personal development plan. This is the résumé that counts because, as Paul points out, this is the résumé that leads to hope. But my guess is that this is the résumé most of us take no time to actually consider. In fact, we avoid this résumé. We want the résumé of glowing accomplishments, of personal success and recognized worthiness. We emulate those who make their mark on society. There is little left for the losers.
Except, of course, that God seems to prefer those who are acquainted with grief and have experienced sorrows. God seems to choose those who are unqualified, unskilled and undervalued. God seems to enjoy the company of losers.
Do we really boast in our struggles? Do we declare the favor of the Lord on us when our lives are deeply disturbed, when stress mounts like eagles, when death and destruction seem to be knocking at the door? Do we really appreciate the agony in the Garden as a pathway for life? Or do we ask God why He lets all these terrible things happen to us? Do we question His benevolence? Do we entertain the possibility that He really doesn’t have our best interests in mind? Ah, do we think we know best?
What résumé are you writing today?
Topical Index: exult, boast, kauchaomai, Romans 5:3
Good word, thank you!
Good morning Skip – i have to chuckle at this piece & it is so true – i have come to the resting conclusion that no matter how well my or anyone’s resume is written – if God is not in the hiring business & He chooses not to open any doors to you (for whatever reasons) – the doors do not open.
I know by this time that this “job” hunt is definitely not about me or what i want but all about HIM (imagine that). A dear person in my life used to brag that they did not want “losers” working for them & that would prick my heart so deeply when they would say it & i would chide them heavily on it – they no longer say that either. i consider us all losers till we come to Christ Jesus/to the Father.
i took an assessment test via computer the other day for a very large company nation wide for a position in the sales support area/call center. of course i was honest & it stated to answer as near to the way you would feel if you had not experienced or knew the answer. i answered honestly but i could see where if you wanted to pad the answers & give them what they wanted to hear you surely could but i didn’t & of course i failed it – being it was not a fail/pass test but one just of assessing your compatibility of working in a call center – i was assessed as failed by the computer & that is okay too cause i really don’t like call centers much like warehousing/packaging & what goes on in those places.
all these “failures” since October of 2010 has taken a toll on my psyche until the last six months when i give God/Jesus the glory for protecting me & HE does a good job of it too & providing for me too. there have been several times HE has flat out told me not to call the company/people back or go to the job fair – on two occasions i was disobedient out of fear (thinking i know better than he does about how to get a job or let HIM lead me) & it did not turn out very good – but HE rescued me once again.
there is no amount of selling myself to a person or company that will open a door if God does not open it for me – especially if i have given him that part of my life for Him to control & lead me – that HE is my provision not the person or company i am to be selling myself too.
THIS PART IS SO BEAUTIFUL & MINISTERS TO ME GREATLY THIS MORNING:
“Write a résumé of your suffering. Write down all those things that went wrong, that failed, the caused you harm, that brought distress and discomfort. Write them down as you would write a résumé, not an obituary. Write them down as God’s personal development plan. This is the résumé that counts because, as Paul points out, this is the résumé that leads to hope. But my guess is that this is the résumé most of us take no time to actually consider. In fact, we avoid this résumé. We want the résumé of glowing accomplishments, of personal success and recognized worthiness. We emulate those who make their mark on society. There is little left for the losers.
Except, of course, that God seems to prefer those who are acquainted with grief and have experienced sorrows. God seems to choose those who are unqualified, unskilled and undervalued. God seems to enjoy the company of losers.
Do we really boast in our struggles? Do we declare the favor of the Lord on us when our lives are deeply disturbed, when stress mounts like eagles, when death and destruction seem to be knocking at the door? Do we really appreciate the agony in the Garden as a pathway for life? Or do we ask God why He lets all these terrible things happen to us? Do we question His benevolence? Do we entertain the possibility that He really doesn’t have our best interests in mind? Ah, do we think we know best?
What résumé are you writing today?”
YES, I DECLARE THIS DAY THE FAVOR OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST ON MY LIFE – WHAT I HAVE LIVED SINCE OCTOBER 2010 IS TRULY A MIRACLE & GIVES GLORY TO GOD IN HIS PROVISION FOR ME & THERE ARE PEOPLE ON THIS SITE THAT HAVE BEEN PART OF THAT PROVISION & THERE IS NO WAY I CAN PROPERLY THANK YOU OTHER THAN TO GIVE GLORY TO JESUS CHRIST ON YOUR BEHALF BECAUSE IT IS HIS BLESSINGS UPON YOU THAT HAVE MADE IT POSSIBLE TO SO SUCH FOR ME…
AH YES, I DO KNOW FATHER KNOWS BEST FOR SURE & THAT I AM NOT A LOSER OR INFERIOR BECAUSE NO DOOR HAS OPENED FOR ME TO BECOME RE-EMPLOYED YET – WHEN IT IS HIS TIMING A DOOR WILL OPEN FOR ME – DOING WHAT HE WANTS ME TO DO… NOT WHAT I THINK I SHOULD BE DOING TO LOOK LIKE THE WORLD OR EVERYONE ELSE…
THANK YOU SKIP, FOR AFFIRMING GOD’S LOVE FOR ME & OTHERS TODAY – THIS WORD IS FOR ME FOR SURE… ♥
I have a friend whose son-in-love (not law:) was looking for a job a long time, money was low, no doors were opening–and driving home one evening well after dark, his headlights shined on a (brown) wallet laying in the middle of the road.
He stopped, retreived it, it was stuffed with $50, I don’t recall how much–, & had all the owner’s info necessary for contact. Michael tried finding the owner that same night, but all the numbers were for a business that was closed for the weekend.
Monday AM, he reached the secretary, & the owner was just going out to apply for new driver’s licence, etc. So he met with Michael at a restaurant for breakfast instead. He offered Michael a reward, but he declined, saying it was only the right thing to do.
So then the man asked Michael if he needed a job, & it turned out to be with a large accounting firm he had hoped to get hired by. The owner had been looking for someone he could trust for a special place in the company.
God will come through for His children, & give them a witness, too.
DOROTHY – THANK YOU FOR SHARING THAT & I HAVE HEARD THE LORD HIMSELF SAY TO ME – IT IS NOT TIME YET – I WILL OPEN THE DOOR WHEN IT IS TIME…
“The owner had been looking for someone he could trust for a special place in the company.
God will come through for His children, & give them a witness, too.”
YES, I BELIEVE THE ABOVE & THANK YOU AGAIN FOR BUILDING MY FAITH AGAIN TODAY – I AM WAITING UPON HIM 4 SURE & HIS WILL 4 ME…
~ But G-d forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our LORD Yeshua HaMashiach , by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world ~ (Galatians 6.14)
I boast not of works or tell of good deeds
For naught have I done to merit His grace
All glory and praise shall rest upon Him
So willing to die in my place
I will glory in the cross
In the cross
Lest His suffering all be in vain
I will weep no more for the cross that He bore
I will glory in the cross
My trophies and crowns, my robe stained with sin
Twas all that I had to lay at His feet
Unworthy to eat from the table of Life
Till Love made provision for me
larnelle harris – I will glory in the cross – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTDajMfEP5M
Thank you Skip, excellent word – and the answer (or question) to a lot of questions – does He have my best interest in mind?
If He didn’t have my best interests in mind, He wouldn’t be the God I know. The problem is that I often think that His understanding of MY best interests isn’t right because I have a different opinion. That mistake means that I question (doubt) the reliability of God, and the word for reliability is ’emunah, the word that we translate “faith.” So when I am not content to let God direct my paths, I am in essence giving up my faith because I am saying that I no longer trust Him and I no longer believe what He says is true.
Yes, and what father does not have the best interests of His children as his heart’s delight and desire? It is true..- “(Our) Father knows best!”
Frances Jane “Fanny” Crosby
All The Way My Savior Leads Me
Fanny Crosby, a gifted and prolific 19th century hymn writer, lost her sight at six weeks of age due to medical mistreatment. Fanny was surely well acquainted with the vulnerability characteristic of the visually impaired. This handicap, rather than discouraging or embittering her, instead caused her to ceaselessly rely on the Lord and to draw all her strength from Him.
The following hymn, composed after she had received an immediate answer to prayer, attests to the spirit of absolute dependence on God exhibited in the life of Fanny Crosby. One day she desperately needed five dollars and had no way to obtain it. As was her custom, Fanny began to pray about this pressing need. A few minutes later, a stranger came to her door with the exact amount. “I have no way of accounting for this,” she later said, “except to believe that God put it into the heart of this good man to bring the money. My first thought was that it is so wonderful the way the Lord leads me, I immediately wrote the poem and Dr. Lowry set it to music.”
All the way my Savior leads me; what have I to ask beside?
Can I doubt His tender mercy, who through life has been my Guide?
Heavenly peace, divinest comfort, here by faith in Him to dwell!
For I know whate’er befall me, Jesus doeth all things well.
All the way my Savior leads me, cheers every winding path I tread,
Gives me grace for every trial, feeds me with the living bread.
Though my weary steps may falter, and my soul athirst may be,
Gushing from the Rock before me, lo! a spring of joy I see.
All the way my Savior leads me; Oh, the fullness of His love!
Perfect rest to me is promised in my Father’s house above.
When my spirit, clothed immortal, wings its flight to realms of day,
This my song through endless ages: Jesus led me all the way.
While men may esteem and extol a Christian of great personal ability, strength, or works, God would rather that we be men of faith who love Him purely and depend on Him continually (Mark 12:28-30). Such was the case of the apostle Paul, whose His intimacy with God was the hidden root of all his life and labor (Philippians 4:13). He once remarked, “On behalf of myself I will not boast, except in my weaknesses,” for the Lord had revealed to him, “My power is perfected in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:5, 9). For a believer to trust in his own works and capability hinders him from fully experiencing God’s grace, because he has not learned what it means to utterly rely on Him. One indicator of spiritual development is the ability to sincerely testify with the apostle Paul, “By the grace of God I am what I am; and His grace unto me did not turn out to be in vain… I labored…, yet not I but the grace of God which is with me” (1 Corinthians 15:10).
Psalms 119:17,18. Psalms 19.7,8
~ Deal bountifully with Your servant, that I may live and keep Your word. Open my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from Your law ~ The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple ~The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes ~
and brother Skip.. may I also include (in true Hebrew fashion?)- it is not “My Utmost For His Highest” but rather “His Utmost For My Highest!”- It is He Who has made us..- and not we ourselves. We are His people and the (very dependent!) sheep of His pasture..