I have a friend, a member of our small group at church, who recently lost his job. After moving to an area they loved, and taking what they thought was a really good job, and buying a house, the new company downsized and let some folks go.
That phrase should be so easy to say: “Honey, I was ‘let go’.” But try saying it to your spouse. Or your kid.
The phrase carries so much baggage. We have to downsize. We may have to move. What if we have to sell one of the cars?
If your spouse stays at home, “YOU may have to get something until I can land a new job…” How are we going to pay for our student’s tuition? And health care? And, on it goes.
But in addition to the practical considerations of being, “let go” – there are subtle messages bouncing around your head. Things like your idea of self. Of being, “engineer”, “accountant”, etc. Suddenly, you’re just… “unemployed”. You start to resent that couple at church who wants to talk about their new car, or the cool kitchen reno that they’ve started! You’re just struggling to get by.
And it’s the self-identity that suffers most, isn’t it? Because, even as believers, we tend to think of ourselves as what we do, not who we really are.
I had to come home and tell my wife those words some years ago. “Honey, I was let go.” And we suffered as a family, but I also suffered privately, as my feelings of self-worth and my idea of who I was eroded with each passing, unemployed day. So I know how gut-wrenching it can be.
But here’s one thing God was doing in me during that time of unemployment. He was showing me just who I really was. I wasn’t an employee. I wasn’t even that guy on the radio. None of that was who I was in my Father’s eyes.
Chris Tomlin says, in Good Good Father, not just; “YOU’RE a good good father” and that’s “who you are, God” – but also, that, “I’m loved by you, and that’s who I AM!” My identity is that of an adopted son! My identity is found in Jesus! I am loved by Him!
Look. You have to pay the bills. You need a job. Seek His will in that, and be patient. The job will come in His time. In the meantime, abide in Him and let Him work in you during this season of your life. See it as a blessing that the God of heaven and earth would lovingly adjust your thoughts about who you are. Eventually, your thoughts will match His, and you’ll see yourself the way He sees you. This is good. He is good.
Galatians 2:20 – “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me…”
Kevin Brooks
Evening Show Host, STAR 99.1
This testimony really spoke to me because the place that I worked close down and I had worked in this field for almost 40 years and I was felt validated by what I did. It also had a very religious component to it so I felt God‘s presence every day in my service. It has been very difficult for me to accept the fact that I no longer work helping people and hundreds of people a day still trying to find out how God is trying to work through me and having a difficult time, but this testimonial got me thinking and praying.
Thank you for this. Our daughter was just “let go” via an email while she was home sick, due to “too many absences in the month of January” (all due to illnesses and unable to get to work). She is a believer and when she shared with us, my first thought was, “Thank you Lord.” He has given her a chance to rest, to heal, to regroup, to reevaluate her worth, her situation and who she is in Him. She has continued to praise and worship Him during this time and she has had 4 interviews for various jobs since her termination. I, and she, feel His hands all over this situation and He is not surprised. He is a GOOD, GOOD Father. Sometimes, when we have not much else to define us, we need to return to the one who loves us, has adopted us and sees us as His children. That is the most wonderful identity to have.