Jars of clay: Unemployment

One moment I was in a meeting discussing the future strategy of the company I worked for, then the next moment I was informed by my manager that this future no longer included me. After 30 years of continuous employment, due to the ‘worsening economic situation’, I joined the ranks of the unemployed.

How should a Christian react in these circumstances? It is an important question, especially when considering those whose only contact with biblical Christianity is you. Whilst many of my colleagues who were also made redundant were so annoyed or upset that they were never seen again, as a Christian it was important to be seen to provide an orderly transfer of work to those who would take it on once I had left. This has proved beneficial, both in being able to come back as an occasional consultant, and in having contact via email and LinkedIn with those left behind.

So what have I learnt? Firstly, that God is faithful. The day after I left work I tried to visit all the recruitment companies that I was aware of. One had moved premises, so I went to the local library to use their telephone directory. After I left the library, I wandered into the small Christian bookshop next door. As I browsed the books, the instrumental version of Matt Redman’s song ‘Blessed Be Your Name’ was being played. I first heard it at the London Men’s Convention, and had sung it a few times, but the challenge now was for the lyrics to become reality: “My heart will choose to say, Lord, blessed be your name”. We so often enjoy God’s good gifts, but then shy away from the trials. Job knew the reality of both in his amazing statement, “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21).

I expected that it would be relatively easy to find work, however after nearly six months this had not proven so. I read somewhere that when such situations arise, the question we, as believers in a sovereign God, should be asking is not “Why?”, but “What for?”. If we have any understanding of the Bible and how God deals with mankind, we ought to realize that there is always a reason.

The most difficult thing to cope with was the waiting. If I’d known the length of my time of unemployment in advance then I could have at least enjoyed the break, but the wait between each application sent, interview attended, and sluggish human resource department’s reply, was hard to come to terms with. I found Paul Tripp’s book A Shelter in the Time of Storm helpful in this respect. The book is a meditation on Psalm 27, and in it he explains the biblical concept of waiting:

It’s not like waiting in a doctor’s surgery where you have an unproductive hour to kill because he is running late. Waiting on God isn’t about the suspension of meaning and purpose, it’s part of the meaning and purpose that God has brought into my life. Waiting on God is not an obstruction in the way but an essential part of the plan. It’s not simply what we will receive at the end of the wait. No, waiting is much more purposeful, efficient and practical. Waiting is fundamentally about what we will become as we wait.1

As fallen humans, we desire that our present difficult situation should change, but our loving heavenly Father desires that we change.

The other lesson comes from 1 Peter 1:3-9, where Peter explains that the purpose of trials is to prove the genuineness of our faith, which is of greater value than gold. When the ability to earn money disappears, the reality of that which is worth much more is driven home.

How does this work out in practice? In the UK, a jobseeker is allowed to spend up to 16 hours a week doing voluntary work whilst still receiving jobseekers pay, as long as it doesn’t interfere with their ability to seek work. In Australia, recipients of unemployment allowances are also allowed to do volunteer work, as long as Centrelink is notified and approves. So talk to your pastor or leadership team, and see where you can be useful. You may not think that visiting the sick and elderly is your calling, but talking to, praying with and sharing a psalm with someone can be such a blessing, to them and you. You might even have the privilege of being the last person on earth who prays with them, as I was with one housebound elderly brother.

The rejection and loneliness can get you down, but you also have so much more time to prepare for Bible studies and preaching—just don’t waste it watching daytime television!

My search has come to an end, and I have at last been successful in gaining employment. There are two things I am looking forward to—a new group of people who need to hear the gospel, and keeping up-to-date with trends wherever possible, so that if unemployment comes again I will be more prepared!

Endnote

1 Paul Tripp, A Shelter in the Time of Storm, Inter-Varsity Press, Nottingham, 2009, p. 143.

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