“A bird in hand is worth two in the bush.” The old adage teaches that it’s better to keep what you have than to risk losing it looking for something better. For the most part, I’ve kind of lived by this. Especially in the business of digital sports content creation. For the most part, it’s worked for me. A job is better than no job. I can control that. I can’t control what I don’t have. It’s safe, it’s easy, and the biggest thing.. I’M IN CONTROL. But God has a funny way of making you realize that’s not the case.

The job search has been hard. I’ve already stacked up a large number of “We appreciate you taking the time to apply for (insert position here), but” emails. So much so, once it gets to the “but” I close the app. I’ve had some part-time/small roles come across, but they just didn’t feel right. I looked back on those and started to think to myself, “Maybe I should have just taken them. Something is better than nothing.” But this week I got encouragement from two sources: my wife and Billy Donovan.

My wife Stephanie is extremely smart. In fact, she edits these pieces late into the night, so technically I am sleeping with the editor. All jokes aside, she has a gift for helping and hearing people. Once I was let go, she almost immediately did what any supportive wife would do. She started looking to get back into the job market after a short hiatus to raise our two children. It didn’t take long for someone to recognize her, and the interview process began. Of course, they offered her the job. But the job turned out not to be what she thought. Now we are faced with a conundrum. I don’t have any prospects right now, and there is a job that can actively bring in income that she can take. We prayed, asked opinions, and talked for a week trying to figure out what to do. I told her I would support any decision she made, but for her, she never felt at peace with it. And through tears, knowing this is giving up control, she politely declined, opting to trust God for what’s next. My wife likes knowing what’s next. She likes to be prepared, so seeing her agonize over the decision and still choose to trust was amazing to see. I was pondering this when I saw Billy Donovan do something similar.

If you don’t know, Bulls Head Coach Billy Donovan decided to walk away from the Bulls. Doesn’t seem like a big deal, but the details are what matter. After firing his Vice President of Basketball Operations and his General Manager, the owner of the Bulls, Michael Reinsdorf, made it clear he supported Billy Donovan.

“I wanted to be very clear: We want Billy to continue to be the coach of the Chicago Bulls. At the end of the day, this is about bringing in a new leader for our basketball team who can build a winning team that our fans can be proud of.”

When pushed on whether a new executive would have the power to hand-pick a coach, Reinsdorf didn’t flinch. He shut the door.

“If we're interviewing someone,” he said, “and they're not sold on Billy and they’re not sold on a Hall of Fame coach, they’re not sold on a person who has won championships in college, who’s gone deep in playoffs in Oklahoma City, who I believe with the Chicago Bulls every year given the teams he was given he achieved really good results — not the results we wanted, but that was not because of Billy — so if someone is not interested in Billy as our coach and Billy wants to be our coach and someone is not interested in that they are probably not the right candidate for us.”

Billy Donovan had the golden ticket. He had all the power and could have had any position he wanted in the Bulls organization. He chose to walk away. According to NBA Insider Shams Charania, he essentially had a blank check to stay. But chose still to exit anyway. Here is Billy in his own words.

“After a series of thoughtful and extensive discussions with ownership regarding the future of the organization, I have decided to step away as the head coach of the Chicago Bulls, to allow the search process to unfold. I believe it is in the best interest of the Bulls, to allow the new leader to build out the staff as they see fit.”

Two people, two different worlds, but the same radical choice: the desert of faith over the valley of ease. This isn't just about career moves; it’s a modern echo of a patriarch who had a similar decision.

I have to tell you the story of Abraham; his life story is amazing, but I want to talk about one. Abraham was like the rest of us, living his life with his family, until one day God called him to leave and promised him a son. Cool. One problem. His wife was barren, and he was well into his 70s. So he leaves his family as told, but just to be safe, he takes his nephew Lot with him. If it doesn’t work out, at least he has a backup plan and a family member to inherit his things. Abraham makes mistakes and learns from them, but one of his greatest tests of trust was in his own family. One day, Abraham looked up, and he had gotten so successful that his servants were fighting with his nephew Lot’s servants for space. So Abraham, with still no sign of a child yet, tells his nephew Lot to leave him and find more space on his own.

So Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herders and mine, for we are close relatives. Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.” (Genesis 13:8-9)

Abraham releases control. The bird in hand. He chose to trust what God told him, even while currently near his 80s. But that was just the first test; Abraham later has to rescue Lot from being taken captive and is successful.

They also carried off Abram’s nephew Lot and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom. A man who had escaped came and reported this to Abram the Hebrew. (Genesis 14:12-13)

He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people. (Genesis 14:16)

This is great! This must be a sign. The bird in hand returns. But Abraham has learned his lesson from past mistakes; he is resolute in his trust, and he does what many of us wouldn’t do. He let Lot go again. His only physical means of an heir, and he lets him depart again. This is faith and trust. This is what my wife chose to do. Billy Donovan, albeit in the sports world and for his own reasons, did something similar. Sometimes it’s ok to not be in control when you trust the one who controls everything.

After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision:

“Do not be afraid, Abram.

I am your shield,

your very great reward.” (Genesis 15:1)