This week, I received a copy of an article written by John Piper. “Don’t Waste Your Cancer” was written by Piper as he prepared for prostate cancer surgery. He makes good points about using the cancer to learn more about God and move forward in the faith journey, but I think his ideas can be useful for any type of suffering – even unemployment.
1.Believe this unemployment is designed by God – if it comes from the sovereign hand of God, then there is a purpose in it and God himself will be with me throughout the journey.
2.Believe it is a gift; not a curse – the gift in unemployment is the ability to grow closer to the Lord, to understand more of the sufferings of Christ and to be used to exhibit God’s grace.
3.Believe that true comfort comes from God; not from outside sources. It is easy to believe the comfort will be securing that dream job. But true comfort is revealed by the Holy Spirit as I relax in the arms of Jesus.
4.Believe in the importance of considering death. Unemployment death means dying to my idea of the perfect job and being willing to go where God wants me to be.
5.Believe in cherishing Christ. Since my true life continues into eternity, learning to cherish my Lord here will prepare me for how to worship him there. My true life is in the relationship with Jesus, not in the security of a job.
6.Believe in the importance the Word. Although I spend time searching for a job, reading God’s Word is still the best use of my time and pushes me closer toward the heart of God.
7.Believe in the importance of relationships. Going through unemployment is not the time for isolation. I need people. I need hugs. I need community.
8.Believe in the importance of hope. Stay in the Psalms. Smile. Find something valuable to do every day. Be courageous enough to keep believing.
9.Believe in the importance of confession. Even during unemployment, it is important to evaluate myself, to make sure I have no unconfessed sins.
10.Believe that I am a witness, even in unemployment. People watch how I go through suffering. My son watches how I wait for the answer and how I pray. Even stronger believers can learn from my witness, and I want to please God in the wait.
Although my thoughts may be a bit different than Piper’s, it’s been a good experiment to go through his article and make it mine. This time of unemployment is not a waste; otherwise, God would not allow it. He has a purpose. All I need to do is stay in hope and believe.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Thursday, July 15, 2010
God Alone
Years ago, I heard Charles Stanley say, “When God repeats something, pay attention.”
This week, God repeated the same idea five times, so I’m paying attention. The theme was that God alone was going to give me a job. He doesn’t really need my help.
Psalm 72:18, “Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things.”
Psalm 62:5, “Wait only upon God….”
Psalm 62:1, “For you alone, my soul waits in silence; from Him comes my salvation.”
NIV note to Psalm 51:10, “Create – as something new which cannot emerge from what now is and which only God can fathom.”
NIV note to Psalm 81:10, “Trust in the Lord alone for all of life’s needs.”
It seems pretty clear to me. God alone is going to do this thing, and when he wants me to do something, he will instruct me. I just need to wait for his incredible work.
This week, God repeated the same idea five times, so I’m paying attention. The theme was that God alone was going to give me a job. He doesn’t really need my help.
Psalm 72:18, “Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things.”
Psalm 62:5, “Wait only upon God….”
Psalm 62:1, “For you alone, my soul waits in silence; from Him comes my salvation.”
NIV note to Psalm 51:10, “Create – as something new which cannot emerge from what now is and which only God can fathom.”
NIV note to Psalm 81:10, “Trust in the Lord alone for all of life’s needs.”
It seems pretty clear to me. God alone is going to do this thing, and when he wants me to do something, he will instruct me. I just need to wait for his incredible work.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
The Heart Waits
Sue Monk Kidd is one of my favorite writers. I have followed her career from the days of Virtue magazine to the publishing of The Secret Life of Bees. Recently, I discovered a nonfiction book by Kidd and have relished in the prose of this talented writer.
The book is called When the Heart Waits and is a chronicle of Sue’s midlife crisis and how she had to wait for God to reveal himself. In the process, she learned a great deal about herself and about the principle of waiting. She states there is a difference between waiting and being still. Waiting is something we all do – in the grocery store line, at the bank, during enrollment at school.
But to be still is to wait with patience, to trust God for the answer even though the answer seems distant, to believe that God still cares even when everything is falling apart.
King David transcribed God’s viewpoint of waiting in Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God.” We often focus on the “be still” section of this verse, but the important part is to “know” that He is God. Sometimes, the only way to know God best is to go through the waiting.
As I continue to wait for the job, I want to be still and keep believing that God’s timing is best and his divine will is for the purpose of glorifying Christ. I want my heart to wait with hope and stay in praise. This is my prayer for today.
The book is called When the Heart Waits and is a chronicle of Sue’s midlife crisis and how she had to wait for God to reveal himself. In the process, she learned a great deal about herself and about the principle of waiting. She states there is a difference between waiting and being still. Waiting is something we all do – in the grocery store line, at the bank, during enrollment at school.
But to be still is to wait with patience, to trust God for the answer even though the answer seems distant, to believe that God still cares even when everything is falling apart.
King David transcribed God’s viewpoint of waiting in Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God.” We often focus on the “be still” section of this verse, but the important part is to “know” that He is God. Sometimes, the only way to know God best is to go through the waiting.
As I continue to wait for the job, I want to be still and keep believing that God’s timing is best and his divine will is for the purpose of glorifying Christ. I want my heart to wait with hope and stay in praise. This is my prayer for today.
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