what if there's more?

Last year around this time, I had an annual review at work and I asked my manager for a 10% raise.

Here’s the thing. I really wanted the full 10%. I’ve recently read a book on negotiation, and I think about this whole process very differently now. But at the time, I didn’t think I could ask for more than 10% out of the gate, and I also thought I’d have to settle for something less. I went in prepared to agree to 7%.

My manager listened to my pitch about the 10%, said a few things in response, and then said, “Actually, we’re going to give you 14%.”

My jaw dropped. Who does that? How did I get twice what I was willing to settle for?

God is so good and kind, and He truly does more than we can imagine. He did more than I literally asked for or could have even thought of.

It expanded what I think of as possible, and since reading that book on negotiation, I’m even more motivated to leave nothing on the table. The author challenges the idea of empasizing only what you would take because it limits your awareness of what else might be possible. He writes, “Never be so sure of what you want that you wouldn’t take something better.”

God, and my manager, were so kind to hand me more than what I had in my view. I didn’t miss out on more. But it made me think about how often I set my eyes on what I think I want, what I think I can have, and what I think is possible or realistic, and I limit myself. I risk missing out on what could be better because I’m not looking for it or leaving room for it.

I went into that meeting last year knowing what I was hoping for and expecting to walk out with something less.

This year, I’m walking into 2025 with things I am dreaming about, and I have no idea what “better” might look like, but I no longer have a list of what I would settle for. I’m expecting to walk out with something more.

Because that’s who God is. He does not settle. He does immeasurably more, and it’s mine — and yours — for the taking.

The power of God is in you, even on a Thursday.