I am in an 8-part blog series dealing with areas of struggle I have
experienced - and how I am learning to work through them with God's
help.
I have been battling with fear about losing my job in the past few weeks. On the one-hand my job has been preserved through 4 layoffs at my current company, so I am grateful. Still, when you live through several layoffs over a period of 2.5 years - you start to have a hard time trusting your employer. If you are an important breadwinner for your family - you are certainly given plenty of reasons to think about what could happen.
I see a serious trend with large American companies; they go through a difficult period- and soon the employee heads start rolling. Then, the disruption of that leads to unintended employee losses. Then, all of that disruption sets the company back further which can sometimes induce another layoff. There is an impatience and lack of loyalty to employees in large companies today - if the company has some less-than-optimal revenue quarters- its employees are sure to pay the price.
My dad went through a painful layoff after, I believe, over 30 years at a large American company- it was very hard on him and on all of us who witnessed it. Seeing that affects me for sure.
Two Ways I am Handling Stress About Job Insecurity:
1.) Confidence God Led Me Here in the First Place...
The way I am dealing with 4 rounds of layoffs is by reminding myself that the Lord brought me to this company in the first place. As a Christian I believe God has the ability and willingness to guide my important decisions. One of my favorite verses is Psalm 32:8 which says, "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go, I will guide you with my eye". (NKJV) Another one is Isaiah 8:19 which says, "Should not a people inquire of their God?" (ESV)
I prayed for guidance before taking this job and was convinced it was the path I was supposed to take. I have been operating in relative confidence for the past 2.5 years based on that. I admit, my confidence in my job security was shaken in this last round of layoffs- but since I survived I have shifted back into the confidence that I am where I am supposed to be.
2.) Confidence in my Career Partnership with God...
Sometime in March 2011 I made God my "Career Partner". I tend to find big topics of life and get God involved in them. When I made Him my Career Partner I basically decided, and dedicated in an act of prayer, the decisions and direction of my career to God. I chose to involve God in deciding career path, job decisions, etc. As part of this I also trust in His protection in my jobs. I can't tell you how great it is to dedicate an area of life to God- and then trust Him with it. I have been able to weather a lot of workplace chaos and even conflict because I trust Him to protect me. As part of this I also trust that God has a PURPOSE for me in the day-to-day work itself. I trust and expect Him to lead me in my work- and help me to make a difference.
What's great as a Christian is, as you have seen so far in this series, things can be HARD, you can even FAIL, but God is a real answer to struggles- real, imagined, and potential. I also find that even when I am a mess- or an area of my life is a mess- God doesn't leave me in that mess forever.
I came to God, in part, to be saved for eternity, for the future - but I increasingly find that His salvation is at work throughout life.
No comments:
Post a Comment