09 February 2010
The Lord is good. When trouble comes, he is the place to go! And he knows everyone who trusts in him! Nahum 1:7, LB
When Jim lost his job at age 45, he struggled with feelings of self-worth. He had a Master’s degree in physics and had been with an aerospace company for almost 20 years. Another year and he would have had a healthy pay increase and retirement benefits. He knew that, and so did the company. That’s why they replaced him with a woman the age of his daughter at half the salary.
It was a matter of economics, down-sizing, said his boss, who was shaking in his boots wondering if he might not also get fired. But that didn’t help how Jim felt. What do you do when you feel beaten up by the circumstances of life? Sit at home and feel sorry for yourself? Nurse your ego by yelling at your wife? Kick the dog? Or sit down and have a talk with yourself? If you are God’s child, if you know that you have a relationship with the Father because the Son has become your Savior, there are some things you need to tell yourself, and possibly you should remind yourself of what you already know.
Guideline #1: When you feel beaten up by circumstances, remind yourself that you are God’s child. Those feelings of worthlessness don’t come from Him. They are circumstance driven, and when you go back to the Word and remember that our relationship to Him is not based on how good we are, or how important we are, it helps us to remember that the sun shines on the good and the evil alike, and that God has not turned His back on you or forgotten you when you get caught by life’s unpleasant circumstances.
Guideline #2: Remind yourself of something very important: God never promised to exempt you from trouble, but to be with you in trouble. When difficulty knocks at my door, I remind myself of a great passage found in Isaiah 43. In this passage you find the word when three times. God says when you go through the waters I will be with you, when you face the fire you will not be burned, when you go through the flood, you will not be overwhelmed. Those words when and if are worlds apart. The bottom line is that we live in an imperfect, broken world. On occasions we who are God’s children become victims of circumstances which beat us up, but this isn’t the last chapter.
Guideline #3: Remember nothing is forever. That’s hard to believe when you are a physicist and the only job opening is for a cook at a local greasy spoon restaurant. “Over-qualified” is the way people describe you. Nobody wants to pay you what you are worth, so you begin wondering if you are worth more than an entry-level salary. Instead of thinking of your situation as being fatal, think of it as an opportunity, a time to explore new areas of possibility, and regroup. When a friend of mine was terminated after many years of service in the same company, he took a vacation instead of looking for work. Sitting on a beach in Hawaii, he got an idea for a new business, came home and launched it. It carried him to retirement.
Guideline #4: Do your part while God does His. God does for you what you can’t do for yourself, but He probably won’t motivate someone to call you and beg you to go to work for them. Your part is getting out there and knocking on doors, following up on friends in the business or industry, placing applications and putting your best foot forward. Then you trust God to open the door and await His timing with patience. For those who really are God’s children the promise is still valid, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).
It is the connection with your Father in Heaven which keeps you from getting beat up by the circumstances of life.
Resource reading: Romans 8:18-28