Taking and possessing the land

This may be a little off topic, but I've just been through a work wringer this week. I applied for three jobs and was interviewed five times. As a union member, I was interviewed as an internal candidate before the job could be posted externally. My current manager was the hiring manager for two out of three jobs. I was qualified for two out of three jobs, and for the other one, I knew I didn't have enough experience. However, I was not selected for any of the jobs, even those I was qualified for. When I went to the last interview, I honestly thought I did well. I felt like I had answered every question to the best of my ability. It came as a surprise to me that I wasn't selected.

The long and the short of it is that I was advised to consult the union because it doesn't make sense that I wasn't selected for at least one of those jobs. The union looked at my case, and recommend that I file a grievance. Because the grievance would be against my current manager, who I would have to work with regardless of the position I'm in, I am VERY reluctant to rock the boat. However, that then leaves me with the need to let the whole thing pass and receive it passively.

My manager tends to know what she wants and knows how to get it. I also know that she will have a strong case for why she didn't offer me a position. It will seem ironclad. And I know that to cross her will put me even more in the cross hairs than I am now.
But to not be offered it because of my performance and to get it because I've grieved it through the union seems less than satisfactory to me. I want to be acknowledged by the manager as competent for the job.

In the midst of it all, a few important things have come up:

1. Take possession of the land
I read a passage in Deuteronomy and then started reading the book Joshua as well. God intended Israel to have the land of Canaan, but they had to enter in with confidence, fight with God on their side and utterly defeat those who lived in the land. It wasn't a done deal. They had to work and they had to be brave.

2. Ask for your inheritance
Caleb and Joshua were the only two of twelve spies who could see past the intimidating tribes dwelling in the land. God promised them both a special inheritance because of their faith and vision. In Joshua 14:10-12 it says “'Now then, just as the Lord promised, he has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time he said this to Moses, while Israel moved about in the wilderness. So here I am today, eighty-five years old! I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. Now give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day.'"
Joshua didn't walk into Canaan and immediately say to Caleb: "Hey! here is your land!". Caleb approached and asked for what was promised to him.

3. Don't be silenced
This has been a lesson for me over years. I am often driven to silence because the enemy wants me that way. My words are powerful! Whether I'm singing in worship and praise or speaking out and proclaiming what is true, I am cutting through the enemy's constant barrage of accusation. I am also lifting up the Lord Jesus and bringing freedom (because the truth sets you free).
Ps 30:10-12 says "Hear, Lord, and be merciful to me; Lord, be my help.
You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent. Lord my God, I will praise you forever."


I am afraid, but I know that God is telling me to follow through the process and trust Him to walk with me. I have walked through so much worse than this! And I have come through. I know it will be hard and it could be very stressful yet, but I also know that I must take a stand and seize hold of my inheritance.

Maybe this job isn't my inheritance. The Gadites and Reubenites asked for the lush hill country outside the Promised Land. It was granted to them under the condition that they would stay and fight with the rest of the nation to take the land across the Jordan. They did this, and then they were released to return to their lands in peace.

So, it may be that I fight this battle and end up in another place entirely. I am open to what God has for me, but I need to be closed to the silencing and restriction of this manager for her own reasons.