The Mango Tree – 1/3
Have you ever thought of your life as FINISHED, no more hope, gone case, nothing to look forward to, all that I was counting upon didnt come through!!! and on and on…..DISAPPOINTMENT, DEJECTION, DESPAIR!!
This can be in any situation of your life, it can be in health, career, relationship, studies, finances, anything….
The Mango Tree, is a 3 part series of what the Lord taught me, from this tree (in such a situation) and I’m sure that it will be of great encouragement to you. It is my testimony and also my article, which can be practically applied to your life also. Each part is short sized to consume easily.
There is a Mango tree in our house, of the neelam variety and a very faithful tree, yielding its fruit. The flowers come up quite early (even though neelam variety is the last in the season) and usually there are plenty of flowers, may be millions of them, but only few become fruits. Year after year, it produces the best fruits.
Then, one day, one of the main branches of the tree was cut and this is how it looked:
All branches gone, all leaves gone, no more flowers ofcourse. It seemed the end for the tree branch!. At the same time, I was going through a tough time in my career and was very dejected and waiting for some change to happen in my work place or a new job and the wait was on, without any end. One day, I saw this cut branch and realised that my situation in my career was like this – FINISHED!!. The situation looked like no hope for me. It looked like an end, with no where to go.
There was life in the tree, but the progress was cut short. Similarly, you may be in a situation, which looks liked a dead end, looks like no progress can be made, seems impossible to get over it, looks done and dusted without any hope. May be you are at cross roads, not knowing which direction to take.
And all of these was happening to me in the midst of covid and needless to add the stress around that, added to the situation.
To be Continued…..part 2/3
From Call Centre to a Data Scientist
What Can I say Unto the Lord, all I have to say is “Thank You Lord”
Every one has work anniversaries, so do I and today marks my 12th year of IT career. But I have a story !
My dad sold the house he built with lots of struggles and all savings, just to make me get into a renowned institute. I got placed in Cognizant in Dec 2009 while I was in the final year. I felt he would be by then glad of my achievement. But later my offer was rejected by Cognizant due to my last semester backlog. It was a shocker to my parents and to me. I used to have guilt while even having a meal at home, even though my parents were loving and encouraging. In few days, I crashed my Dad’s brand new car just in 3 hours of it’s delivery. Utter chaos ! Buying a car was a milestone for my dad. I realised I was a trouble to them.
With shame, I came to Chennai with Rs.3000 (€35) borrowed from my aunt, borrowed my senior’s shoes, attended interviews and I got a job in a BPO with Rs.11000/month(€125) salary. I worked as a call centre executive in night shifts, had to bear abusive words from customers. I used to cry every night while crossing the majestic lighted Cognizant buildings at night. IT career became a distant dream. I used to take the service stairs instead of lift, just to avoid being shamed as I was looked down by some of my college mates who worked in same building, said I lost my career since I was too much into spiritual matters.
With a strong leading, I quit the job in 2010. Kept praying and started to prepare well for my arrear papers. On Jan 12 2011 after 1 year and 2 months after my initial offer, I got my results right 30 minutes after I finished a word of prayer!. With no hope but since my dad insisted, I emailed the HR about my results & a miracle did happen. The HR replied that I can use my “year old offer” to join Cognizant.
Joined Cognizant, a fortune 500 company on this very same day (Jan 20 2011), moved to Deloitte one of the worlds Big 4, then with Verizon, a fortune 10 company, Paypal and finally into Adidas, moving from being an analyst to a Senior Manager. Salary digits changed & wherever I worked, God’s grace was there!
For a person who found engineering itself tough, God gave the strength to finish an MBA and Masters as well. Never in my dream I thought from a call center person I would become a Data scientist. In 2011, if some one said, I would travel to the US or Europe, I would have called it a joke !
Why do I write this: Life could be anything at the moment, but remember GOD’s plans are always good for you. I want to encourage you that God can make ways in mysterious ways, where there is no way according to you !
If any one reading this, is out of college or studying or working, right now discouraged about failures and thinking of your future: Cheer up, Look unto God, commit, get prepared, do what you can and HE will do what you cannot. There is surely HOPE and your faith will not be put to shame !
Grace !!! Grace Alone !!!!
At Work – Sun & Springs
Isaiah 49:10 – They will neither hunger nor thirst, nor will the desert heat or the sun beat down on them. He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water.
Is the workplace scorching you like the sun?
We all know that sun means heat. Many a times, it gets really hot at work (not meaning the temperature), about hot interactions with people, people turning up the heat on us in an unjustified manner.
Even though the sun is so far away, we can still feel the heat. In the same way, people can disrupt things in your personal life or work life, even if they are far away. So, what to do in such instances?. Look up to God and He will do 2 things – Guide you and Lead you to the springs of water, where it will be a continous replenishment from the heat (troubles, disruptions, politics, devious schemes) and without lack. It is not for us to find the springs, but for Him to Guide us and Lead us. And this will happen only if we look up to Him and not resort to ‘actions’ which we think, will protect us from the ‘heat’. And note that it is not about one spring, it is springs of water, which means the feed is plenty, to protect us.
Be nourished by the springs, to stay encouraged, refreshed and strong, even in the face of heat from adversity. Be blessed and be a blessing.
Under Authority
Read: Matthew 28:18-20
“Under authority”
“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” -Matthew 28:18-20
In the closing verses of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus made the very bold statement as an introduction to the Great Commission given to His followers. The Lord Jesus made a great claim to have “all authority in heaven and on earth,” and this authority was the basis for the disciples’ obedience to the Great Commission.
While living on the earth, Jesus demonstrated authority over everything. He demonstrated authority in his teaching (Matthew 7:29), healing (Matthew 8:1-13), over demons, over nature (Matthew 8:27) and in forgiving sins (Matthew 9:6). By His death and resurrection, Jesus defeated all enemies including death and won for Himself all authority.
When we read the book of Acts, we see that the early disciples operated on the basis of the Lord’s sovereign authority. They ministered in His name. They depended on His power and guidance. They did not face the lost world on the basis of their own authority, but on the authority of Jesus Christ (Acts 2:30-36)
Even today, Jesus has authority and control over every situation and He wants us to go into the world (which includes our daily work) with that basis. Authority is necessary to empower service. It means that if our mission is the Great Commission, we cannot fail. It means that we have His authority when we are engaged in the mission He has given us to serve others.
When we understand this basis for reaching people with the gospel under His authority and making disciples out of them, we have no excuses of our own limitations or lack of power and authority. We also do not need to be afraid of anything when we are under the greatest authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore go and make disciples this week and every week!
Blessed week!
Joseph, PROFIT Singapore
Shine like Stars
“Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky” -Philippians 2:14-15
The apostle Paul wrote these words to the believers in Philippi. He contrasts the life of a believer with the lives of those in the world. Unsaved people complain and find fault, but followers of Christ rejoice instead of grumbling. Society around us is “twisted and distorted,” but the Christian stands straight because he lives his life by God’s Word.
Paul is also highlighting here about the impact believers can have in a world that is running contrary to their life and faith. When followers of Christ imitate Christ’s humility and face life with the joyful spirit (not with grumbling), they are so like the children of God and it is impossible for them not to impact the world around them.
The original recipients of these words, the believers in Philippi Indeed followed these words well in their lives which impacted their city significantly. Philippi was a town of not more than 15 thousand people at that time. The believers were small in numbers and probably meeting in houses in a few small groups.
But in the next few centuries, 4 to 5 Churches were built, with one of them as large as the size of the entire marketplace in the city. In a town of not more than 15 thousand people, this was quite an impact. What started in Paul’s day as a small number of people in 2-3 houses became literally thousands of people and a citywide movement.
Indeed the Philippians shined for Christ and impacted their city. They held firmly the word of life (which is the gospel) and lived their lives well among the crooked generation. The same applies to us in our workplaces too. When a small group of believers take the gospel seriously and shine it through their lives where they are placed, the impact can become a citywide movement. Don’t you Long for that to be true?
Say NO to grumbling this week, but yes to rejoicing in the Lord and you will Shine for Christ!!
Blessed week!
Joseph, PROFIT Singapore