When God Told Me To Work CFA

Allow me to tell you one of my favorite stories. It’s the story of when God told me to work at Chick-fil-A.

I was twenty-three and had just gotten saved that past summer. I was working at a fancy French restaurant in New Haven. Many people regarded it as the nicest restaurant in the city.

I enjoyed my job. I was the host. I liked greeting people, leading them to their table, arranging the floor plan. It kept me on my feet, it required me to think, and I especially liked when things got busy. Those shifts went by the fastest.

But as time passed by, I started to suspect that my hosting job probably wasn’t going to last much longer. My boss was a homosexual. And not only that, but a significant percentage of my coworkers were queer as well. I had recently become a Christian, and I sensed that I rubbed them the wrong way.

One Wednesday, as I walked into church for evening service, one of the deacons greeted me at the door, and said, “What’s wrong?” I must have had a frown on my face.

I explained my situation at work.

The deacon shook his head. “That sounds rough. You know, they just opened a Chick-fil-A here in town. It’s a Christian company. You should consider applying.”

As I drove home that night, I thought about what the deacon had said. I was reluctant. I was a young adult with a college degree. The idea of working fast food seemed a little beneath me.

A few days passed by at the French restaurant. Things continued to worsen. Finally I conceded. I drove to the Chick-fil-A and filled out an application.

They called me later that night. They asked if I could come in for an interview.

Eventually I found myself sitting across the table from the owner of the restaurant. The interview lasted about thirty minutes. After the interview was over, the owner paused and said, “Justin, before you go, I have one final question to ask you.”

I nodded.

He looked at me intently. “If I hire you, will you be willing to go the extra mile for me?”

I assured him that I would.

He smiled. “Do you know where that expression comes from, ‘going the extra mile?’”

I shook my head.

“It comes from a Bible verse. Matthew 5:41.”

We shook hands, and I walked out of the restaurant, got into my car and turned the key into the ignition. The car turned on, and the stereo system linked automatically via Bluetooth to my iPhone. It resumed playing what I had been listening to when I had first pulled up to the restaurant: my audio Bible. The narrator’s voice began to read. The first words out of his mouth: “And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.”

For several minutes I sat in my car, staring at the brick wall in front of me. Eventually I drove home with only one possible explanation: God wanted me to work at that Chick-fil-A. The owner of the restaurant called me later that day, offering me a job. I accepted.

They often say “hindsight is 20-20.” It’s been 9 years since the day of that interview. At first, all I knew was that God wanted me to work at Chick-fil-A. But I didn’t fully understand why He wanted me to work there. Now I do.

I ended up working at that restaurant for three years. And to be honest with you, it wasn’t the easiest job in the world. I was assigned the closing shift - working past midnight many nights. The pay was minimum wage. I was working with a kitchen crew comprised mostly of high school students. My supervisor was demanding. To be honest, there were many shifts when I wanted nothing more than to quit.

But I didn’t. I couldn’t. I knew that the Lord had made it clear that He wanted me to work there, and I couldn’t disobey. So I stuck it out. Night after night. Week after week. Year after year.

And I’m glad I did. Because eventually that’s where I met my wife. Joy got hired at the same CFA about a year after me. After working together for a year, we started to date. If I had quit, we never would have gotten to know each other. We never would have started dating, and we never would have gotten married.

Looking back on that experience, what I realize now is that God was in control from the very beginning. He knew that I was going to dislike that job. He knew that I was going to want to quit. And He knew that He was going to have to give me a sign to make sure that I didn’t.

There may come a time in your life, when you know what God wants you to do, but it’s difficult to obey. Allow me to encourage you right now - follow the Lord’s will.

Were those years working at Chick-fil-A enjoyable? Not necessarily. But I’m glad I stuck it out. If I had, I might not have the family that I have now.

Always remember, the Lord knows best. It might not make sense while you’re going through it. But when all is said and done, you’ll look back and see that God was always in control.

Psalm 18:30

As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the Lord is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.