God’s Faithfulness > Job Loss

Today’s post is going to be a little different – today, I want to share with you a personal story about the faithfulness of God.

In 1994, my husband lost his job of 16 years, suddenly, and without warning.  We had two small children and I was a stay at home mom.  YIKES!  He received no severance package and no access to any pension or retirement funds.  The only thing he was given was the opportunity to take classes for 6 months, which he did.  Gratefully, this program also gave us money towards childcare , as I was able to find a part time job a couple of months later.

This was a very difficult time for our family.  We had a mortgage, two vehicles, and bills like everyone else.  We lost our income and healthcare.  We were tithers and givers and boy am I thankful we were. See, it rains on the just and the unjust – bad things happen to good people – and when adversity strikes you find out where your faith lies.

However, we still had to do what we knew to do in the natural – we had to be practical.  Just because we were tithers didn’t mean we were to sit and wait on another job – no, we had to do whatever our “hands found to do.”  (Eccl 9:10)

So, I found a part-time job as a secretary and Randy began to look as well.  He was in school eight hours a day, five days a week, but he started doing odd jobs for people.  Once the six month classes were finished, he began to look for a job steady.  It was tough!  He started the other job right out of highschool and didn’t know any other work.  He mowed yards and pounded mortar out of bricks for $6.00 an hour.  He did anything he could find to make money.  And I want to tell you that we never went with out.

Often times we would go to church and someone would slip us money, or hand us an envelope, or we would get a surprise check in the mail.  One time a man came to our door and gave us $400.00.  Another time, a different man gave us part of the commission he had earned from selling a car.  We didn’t have health insurance, and our son needed shots.  The night before the $60 office visit, some friends came over.  That night, when we rolled down our bed, there were three $20 dollar bills in our covers!

While we were waiting for the job we desired – we continued to do all that we knew to do……the mowing, pounding, working, etc. I had yard sales.   He also applied at places that we knew were hiring, but were MUCH LESS THAN WHAT WE NEEDED TO LIVE ON.  He got a job with a local retailer making $2.35 an hour plus commission.  TWO DOLLARS AND THIRTY FIVE CENTS AN HOUR.  This will not feed a family of four.  On paper, it was NOT enough to meet our needs – but it was the only door open at the time.  He took the job.  He worked there for a little over a year, and you know what?  He was salesman of the month every single month!  You know what else?  We made it!  It was no ways near what we wanted or even needed, but he took the job and did his best.

He would arrive at work and pray over his area.  He would call forth customers who wanted to buy tools.  He was gracious to others and honest with his co-workers.  He HATED wearing a red vest to work everyday.  He would hear lies in his head that people he went to school with would think he was less than, but he forged on.  So much so that at the end of his first year, he was granted full time!  Was it easy?  NO.  But, little is much when God is in it.  God always made a way.  Whether his check was $70 or $300, we tithed and stayed faithful to give.

I heard a preacher say once, if you need a job and are having trouble finding one you want, take a job and be faithful.  You can work while you are at that job, but be faithful.  God will honor the work of your hands.  Like the loaves and fishes – there was no way that small amount could feed thousands – not without God multiplying it.  Jesus took the break and blessed it and handed it out.  When we work with the little we have, God will bless it and multiply it out if we will only trust Him.

While going through this process, my husband had applied at an area plant and even though he was one out of 11,000 – after two years of waiting and working and tithing and believing, his application was pulled out of the 11,000 and he has now been there almost 20 years!  (a whole other story!)

God hears our prayers.  But, we need to be willing to walk HIS path and not the one we perceive or want.  We usually want to go the straight line, when He wants to take us through places that will allow our character to be strengthened and our faith to grow.  After all, He already knows how we are going to end up – but we need to know.  If David had not faced and conquered the lion, and the bear, he never would have had the confidence and courage to face Goliath.  He had been through trials and knew the strength of his God when He did what he knew to do.  So, he picked up 5 small stones and a slingshot and took out the biggest enemy in the land.

I hear people say, that they need a job paying so much an hour, and they are offered a job 2-3 dollars less an hour and they turn it down.  Now, I understand that they NEED a certain amount but, when there is no other job in sight, and other sources have been exhausted, sometimes you have to  walk through the only door that is open and see where it leads!  Who knows?  You might get promoted quickly.  With God all things are possible!   OR, maybe the job that is perfect for you won’t be available for a little bit….this is where faith comes in and a relationship with your heavenly Father.  He will give you peace when it doesn’t make sense if you will put your trust in Him and follow His guide.

So, what I am saying is, before you turn the less than job down, ask the Lord.  Looking back, the retail job was no ways near enough to meet our needs, but it was the only door open at the time.  So, we took it, we blessed it, and we asked God to multiply it out for us.  He did exactly that.  And you know what?  The job we really wanted wasn’t going to be available for another year.  God knew that, and we knew God.  Therefore, we put His principles to work, and here we are today.  We can surely testify of His goodness and faithfulness!

God hears your prayers.  He knows what you need.  Do what you know to do, give it to the Lord and be faithful.  For He surely is!