Feeling like you no matter what you do you have a set back?  

Have you left a job to follow your calling? Or maybe you are sacrificing something else but feel like nothing is working for you. 

What if instead, you could look at your trials and tribulations as a part of the process?

It’s possible. In fact you just have to believe and trust God. 

If you’re like most Christians, you want to obey God and do what He wants. 

In today’s episode, I share a story of a Hollywood actor who lost everything yet God still turned things around for him. 

Whether you are going through a trial now or you feel one coming… you can do this!

What You’ll Learn In This Episode:

• How tribulations happen to mold us into the person God created us to be
• Understand that God is still in control

Listen To The Full Episode:

Full Episode Transcript:

The truth about embracing God’s Calling: Trials and Tribulations

Have you ever heard of Neil McDonough? Neil is a famous actor who played on Desperate Housewives, Captain America, Suits, and a lot of other sitcoms and movies. 

In 2003 after he married his wife he told producers he didn’t want to do any more kissing or sex scenes. Because of this he was blacklisted from the entire Hollywood film industry for two years. 

He lost his big beautiful house, his Mercedes, and all his stuff. He even lost his confidence and fell into a pit of what he calls a pit of self pity and began to drink his problems away.

And then one day he cried out to God “Why have you forgotten about me?” 

He goes on to say that after that came out of his mouth he fell to the floor because he thought “Who am I to be so selfish to the one who has given me so much?” 

And then one minute later he gets  a call asking if he wanted to be a villain on Justified. 

Ever since that day he has played a villain. 

Neils story got me thinking about our trials and tribulations and the truth about embracing God’s Calling. 

I wish with all my heart I could sit and say when you make that decision to embrace your unique calling everything will get easier and things will just fall into place. 

Unfortunately it doesn’t work like that. Trust me I wish I did. 

There is a part in Neil’s story where he talks about his faith and how he didn’t want his wife to see him kissing other women but he also didn’t want God to see that either. 

Yet he still lost everything and was blacklisted for two years. 

Has there been a time in your own life where you lost something because you refused to compromise on your faith? 

In 2021 I was working a sales job that I actually really liked until I felt like my integrity was challenged. 

I made really good money at that job and was the top sales person my very first month. My first check was over six thousand dollars. 

The hours were awkward and I had to work every weekend but I didn’t really mind. What I did mind though was my integrity being challenged on a daily basis. 

See if someone walked into the store whether by accident or not we had to sell them. I personally had an issue with this because the product was not for everyone. 

It would be like you walking into a hearing aid office by accident and the sales rep tries to sell you a hearing aid even though you are 28 years young and have excellent hearing. 

Honestly, I tried to set it aside and think of it as my job but I couldn’t help but feel that my integrity was being challenged. So I put in my notice and I left. 

Two months later I begged for my job back because I found that getting coaching clients was harder than I thought. 

When I got my job back they decided to send me to Nebraska for some additional training. I was supposed to be there for a week. I was let go 4 days later. 

Talk about angry…. I was beyond furious. Here I was doing my job making sales and the regional manager randomly let me go. 

I wasn’t just angry with him, I was angry at myself for going back. Even though I didn’t admit it then I believe I was a little angry with God. 

How often do we get angry at God for something or even lash out in anger asking Him why He allowed this to happen? 

What if trials and tribulations happen to mold us into the person God created us to be? 

When you stop and think about everyone in the Bible who did something great or rose to something great, every single one of them had to go through some sort of trial and tribulation. 

Let’s use Moses as an example. Moses’ story didn’t end in Moab.

It is so easy to look at his story and think about all he did and all he went through and yet he still didn’t get to experience the promised land.

Sometimes you will make a choice that tanks you, like Moses did when he chose not to trust God and uphold Him as holy in the eyes of the Isrealites. 

Or like I did when I chose to go back to a job that clearly was not a job where God wanted me. 

Sometimes someone’s else’s free will will fall on you and it will feel unfair. 

Like when Neil was blacklisted from all of Hollywood for two years. 

There are a lot of us that have had circumstances thrust upon us that we didn’t want. 

I know I have. 

Although we make bad choices and sometimes go through trials and tribulations, God is still in control and will still use you in ways you never even thought possible. 

Moses made some bad choices, but God was still pleased with him, and continued to use him even after his death.

We know this because in Matthew 17:3 the Bible says “Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.”

If you are currently going through something then I want to encourage you to keep moving forward and remember we all go through trials and tribulations. 

Think of it as a part of the process. 

It may be hard to see right now but God has something pretty amazing in store for you. 

As always I will leave you with something to think about: Sometimes it is in the middle of the storm where you find your calling. 

Before you go, be sure to take the Quiz!

Discover If You Are in Alignment with Your Calling

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