The Atheist and the God-Fearing in the Foxhole: Losing Your Job - Part 2
Last time we focused on the atheist - or at least the "functional" atheist - in the foxhole who's lost his job. He's now at the point where he got religion and desperately turns to God. But the God-fearing can find themselves in that same foxhole too. And from personal experience, losing your job suddenly, unexpectedly, presents one of life's greatest challenges. It's likely even those of us who make at least cursory attempts to include God in our work lives will turn to Him in an almost desperate manner.
But a question arises here. We can understand the shock and desperation of those who ignored God, who never developed the habit of offering their work for His greater glory, who never even acknowledge God, never mind put Him at the center of their lives. They've got nowhere to turn in their moment of need; and so when they begin to pray, to plead for help, it's something new. They're not used to turning to God in a moment of need and totally trusting in Him. But wouldn't you think that those of us who haven't ignored God, who do recognize His Sovereignty in our lives, wouldn't become as frantic, as desperate when thrust out on the street as per our example? Shouldn't we know that, come what may, we trust in God; we know He has a plan for us; so this unfortunate turn of events must be part of that plan?
Ah, would that it would be thus! Not that such examples don't exist. We all know that sprinkled out there in the great hinterlands of this vale of tears you can find a saint or two whose faith is so sure, who trust in God so completely that he or she faces adversity without the anxiety that typically grabs the rest of us by the scruff of the neck and drags us into that fox hole, leaving us in a virtual state of panic. It's just human nature. We should know better, we should act better, we should be better - but we're not.
So for us un-saint-like creatures who slog through the day doing what passes for our best effort in trying to grow closer to God, all we can say or do is keep doing what you're doing. Don't let this sudden, perhaps shocking, incursion throw you. Just as you did when you were gainfully, even happily employed, get your butt out of bed and get going with your morning routine. If it typically includes prayer, reading, study, meditation - whatever - don't let adversity cause you to skip a beat. You know you trust in God; you just may not "feel" it at the moment. That's OK. Just remember that feelings come and go. And this one too shall pass in time.
Having been through something like this, I'm aware of the anxiety that can grip your soul, cloud your mind, and tear through your body. The first shock eventually passes, but it takes some doing to gather your thoughts, calm down a bit, and get on with the task of finding reasonable employment. The process begins, but it's not always smooth.
If any doubt creeps in about your faith, or if you're wondering why you weren't better prepared for this, ignore it. Sure, it can undermine your efforts, perhaps zapping your energy from time to time. But you've got to fight past this. Even if you had pinched yourself while things were going smoothly and remembered that life throws curve balls at us; even if you had the habit of searching the job market to see what's out there "just in case," that's in the past now. Rest assured your previous efforts will help you; it just may not seem that way now. What you need to do now is to focus on the future. Even better you need to have a plan in place and follow it day by day, step by step. Contact, follow-up, eventually interview, eventually get a new job. It will happen - eventually.
One thing you don't want to do is give your spiritual life short shrift. Not now. Don't be surprised if you're tempted here. You may think you'll be better off taking the time you spent on those pious practices that helped you grow closer to God and using that time to seek employment. For example, rather than taking an hour each morning in prayer, reading, study and the rest, you check and send follow-up emails. After all, you're in that fox hole and the bullets are flying. This is not the time for prayer!
Don't fall for any of this. By keeping up with your spiritual life, you'll gain a fresh new level of strength and assurance that will carry over into the next phase of your work life. And that phase will surely come. With God's help, by His grace, your misfortune will turn into a blessing. Isn't that so often the case? He doesn't prevent bad things from happening, but He has a way of using them to strengthen us, to help us grow another step closer to Him. It's all part of the journey of life that takes us, ultimately, to the eternal joy of Heaven.
Okay, so maybe the consolation of eternal happiness doesn't quite take away all the anxiety, maybe it won't get you the job you need in the shortest time frame. But it's worth remembering and, at least by an act of will, in whatever words you muster, telling our Lord that you trust in Him, that you understand that His ways are not necessarily your ways. In fact, you know that His ways are best.
So if you're looking for work and things are a bit desperate, please, right now, turn to Him. Express your faith, your trust. He's looking and He's listening. For the rest of us who aren't in that foxhole (at least at the moment), we'll pray for you. And for each and every one:
But a question arises here. We can understand the shock and desperation of those who ignored God, who never developed the habit of offering their work for His greater glory, who never even acknowledge God, never mind put Him at the center of their lives. They've got nowhere to turn in their moment of need; and so when they begin to pray, to plead for help, it's something new. They're not used to turning to God in a moment of need and totally trusting in Him. But wouldn't you think that those of us who haven't ignored God, who do recognize His Sovereignty in our lives, wouldn't become as frantic, as desperate when thrust out on the street as per our example? Shouldn't we know that, come what may, we trust in God; we know He has a plan for us; so this unfortunate turn of events must be part of that plan?
Ah, would that it would be thus! Not that such examples don't exist. We all know that sprinkled out there in the great hinterlands of this vale of tears you can find a saint or two whose faith is so sure, who trust in God so completely that he or she faces adversity without the anxiety that typically grabs the rest of us by the scruff of the neck and drags us into that fox hole, leaving us in a virtual state of panic. It's just human nature. We should know better, we should act better, we should be better - but we're not.
So for us un-saint-like creatures who slog through the day doing what passes for our best effort in trying to grow closer to God, all we can say or do is keep doing what you're doing. Don't let this sudden, perhaps shocking, incursion throw you. Just as you did when you were gainfully, even happily employed, get your butt out of bed and get going with your morning routine. If it typically includes prayer, reading, study, meditation - whatever - don't let adversity cause you to skip a beat. You know you trust in God; you just may not "feel" it at the moment. That's OK. Just remember that feelings come and go. And this one too shall pass in time.
Having been through something like this, I'm aware of the anxiety that can grip your soul, cloud your mind, and tear through your body. The first shock eventually passes, but it takes some doing to gather your thoughts, calm down a bit, and get on with the task of finding reasonable employment. The process begins, but it's not always smooth.
If any doubt creeps in about your faith, or if you're wondering why you weren't better prepared for this, ignore it. Sure, it can undermine your efforts, perhaps zapping your energy from time to time. But you've got to fight past this. Even if you had pinched yourself while things were going smoothly and remembered that life throws curve balls at us; even if you had the habit of searching the job market to see what's out there "just in case," that's in the past now. Rest assured your previous efforts will help you; it just may not seem that way now. What you need to do now is to focus on the future. Even better you need to have a plan in place and follow it day by day, step by step. Contact, follow-up, eventually interview, eventually get a new job. It will happen - eventually.
One thing you don't want to do is give your spiritual life short shrift. Not now. Don't be surprised if you're tempted here. You may think you'll be better off taking the time you spent on those pious practices that helped you grow closer to God and using that time to seek employment. For example, rather than taking an hour each morning in prayer, reading, study and the rest, you check and send follow-up emails. After all, you're in that fox hole and the bullets are flying. This is not the time for prayer!
Don't fall for any of this. By keeping up with your spiritual life, you'll gain a fresh new level of strength and assurance that will carry over into the next phase of your work life. And that phase will surely come. With God's help, by His grace, your misfortune will turn into a blessing. Isn't that so often the case? He doesn't prevent bad things from happening, but He has a way of using them to strengthen us, to help us grow another step closer to Him. It's all part of the journey of life that takes us, ultimately, to the eternal joy of Heaven.
Okay, so maybe the consolation of eternal happiness doesn't quite take away all the anxiety, maybe it won't get you the job you need in the shortest time frame. But it's worth remembering and, at least by an act of will, in whatever words you muster, telling our Lord that you trust in Him, that you understand that His ways are not necessarily your ways. In fact, you know that His ways are best.
So if you're looking for work and things are a bit desperate, please, right now, turn to Him. Express your faith, your trust. He's looking and He's listening. For the rest of us who aren't in that foxhole (at least at the moment), we'll pray for you. And for each and every one:
St. Joseph, patron of those who toil, pray for us.
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