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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That phrase should be so easy to say: \u201cHoney, I was \u2018let go\u2019.\u201d But try saying it to your spouse. Or your kid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If your spouse stays at home, \u201cYOU may have to get something until I can land a new job\u2026\u201d How are we going to pay for our student\u2019s tuition? And health care? And, on it goes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But in addition to the practical considerations of being, \u201clet go\u201d \u2013 there are subtle messages bouncing around your head. Things like your idea of self. Of being, \u201cengineer\u201d, \u201caccountant\u201d, etc. Suddenly, you\u2019re just\u2026 \u201cunemployed\u201d. 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\u2019re just struggling to get by.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And it\u2019s the self-identity that suffers most, isn\u2019t it? Because, even as believers, we tend to think of ourselves as what we do<\/em>, not who we really<\/em> are. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I had to come home and tell my wife those words some years ago. \u201cHoney, I was let go.\u201d 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But here\u2019s one thing God was doing in me during that time of unemployment. He was showing me just who I really was. I wasn\u2019t an employee. I wasn\u2019t even that guy on the radio. None of that was who I was in my Father\u2019s eyes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Chris Tomlin says, in Good Good Father<\/em><\/a>, not just; \u201cYOU’RE a good good father<\/em>\u201d and that\u2019s \u201cwho you are, God<\/em>\u201d \u2013 but also, that, \u201cI’m loved by you, and that\u2019s who I AM<\/em>!\u201d My identity is that of an adopted son! My identity is found in Jesus! I am loved by Him!<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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<\/em> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Galat<\/a>ians 2:20<\/a> \u2013 \u201cI have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n