Unemployment
By Cynthia Howerter
So. You didn’t see it coming. Or maybe you did. In either case, it’s a shock. Questions swirl through your mind. What will we do for money? How will we live? What if we can’t make the mortgage payment? How will we buy food? How will we pay our bills? Questions that you can’t answer. At least for now.
I didn’t see my husband’s unemployment coming. Neither did he. But, suddenly, the job was over. Done. Not to be resurrected. And there was no time to prepare.
I remember praying right away. Not a flowery, lengthy prayer. No, I got right to the point: “Help, God. Help!” I didn’t need an abundance of words. God knew what I was praying about. He knows what you’re praying about.
When any adversity strikes us, it is not a random circumstance. As believers, we know that nothing is random, but, rather, that there is a purpose to everything under the sun. So, rest assure that God knew before you did that you or your spouse were going to lose the ability to earn a living.
Why, you want to know, would God allow you to lose your income?
Let me ask you this: Did God have a place in your life before you lost your job? Were you setting aside time everyday to pray and read the Scriptures? Or were you just going about your life inserting God into it whenever you thought about it – which probably wasn’t on a regular basis. Am I right? I know. Ouch.
Did God have your attention before you lost your job? Well, there’s the answer to your question – “why would God allow us to lose our income?” I’ll bet God’s got your attention now.
Now that you’re focused on God, what’s next? My husband and I learned that as soon as adversity happens, we need to ask God to reveal exactly what He wants us to learn. Because you see, God wants to teach you something through this difficult situation. The sooner you ask Him what it is He wants you to learn, the sooner you can hear what He says to you.
Now, how do you focus on God? There are two basic ways. Read the Scriptures and talk to God. Every day. (I’ll talk more about the Scriptures in a later article). Are you waking up during the night filled with fear and anxiety? Stop and talk to God about it. Are you scared and worried? Tell Him. No matter what is going on in your life, focus on God. Every day. Every night.
“Now, Cynthia, didn’t you just tell me that God allowed me to lose my job?” I did. “Then why should I focus on God?” Good question, friend. Would you jump out of an airplane without a parachute? Didn’t think so. Look at your job as the airplane. Your employer just threw you out of the plane at an altitude of 27,000 feet. Exactly what will get you out of this free fall without a messy landing? Bingo. God is your parachute. God allowed you to lose your job and God is able to give you another.
But first, is there something you want to say to God? Umm. Hmm. Give up? Well, let me ask you this: What do you expect your children to do when they’ve been disobedient to you? Ooh. And, you haven’t been disobedient to just anybody. You’ve been disobedient to the God of the Universe. Ever wonder what those knees were made for? Now you know.
Once you decide to make God the main focus of your life, once you humbly ask for forgiveness for your disobedience, and after you ask God to reveal exactly what it is that He wants you to learn through this terrible situation, then wait patiently for God to begin speaking to you. This usually takes awhile. So be patient. But know this: God is faithful to those who are faithful to Him.
“But if we confess our sins, He will forgive our sins, because we can trust God to do what is right. He will cleanse us from all the wrongs we have done.” 1 John 1:9.
God assumes full responsibility for our needs when we obey Him. Job 42:7-17.
Come back for my next article in the Series “Happy Endings Do Not Only Exist in Fairy Tales.” I’ll be discussing the importance of the Scriptures in the midst of this calamity you’re in. In the meantime, if you know anyone who could benefit from reading today’s article, please tell them about it. This series is meant to be shared.
If you have a story pertaining to unemployment that you would like shared, please contact me. As Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. said every week on TV when I was a kid, “The names will be changed to protect the innocent.”
To God Be the Glory!
Cynthia Howerter © 2011
Residing in Virginia, Cynthia writes Christian historical fiction and nonfiction. She is a popular guest speaker, recently traveling to New York to speak on this topic.
