Christian Crier
Here are seven Bible verses that I hope will encourage you if you’re currently unemployed.
First Peter 5:6-7 “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”
Perhaps the greatest key to have God met our needs is that we must humble ourselves before Him because He is opposed to the proud (James 4:6) and grace, like water, always flows downhill. We must humble ourselves first and then in humility, cast it all upon Him because He cares for you and knows that you are going through a difficult time being unemployed or even under-employed. Trust God, give it all over to Him, and then leave the results up to God.
Matthew 6:33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
If we are seeking employment, that’s great, but we are told to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all our needs will be met. Jesus says we must seek the kingdom, being our number one priority and that means seeking the King of that kingdom and that is Jesus Christ. Why waste energy worrying about tomorrow, which we have no control over anyway. Why not first seek Christ and He can add whatever your needs are, jobs included, in His time.
Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
I even hesitated to use this verse because the context is clearly not for us. This was written specifically to Israel who had just lost all hope when they were taken into captivity, however I believe the principle is the certainly the same for believers because God does have plans for us and offers hope for tomorrow and for our future, no matter what it looks like today. It should help us to know that God already knows the future, therefore, we can trust God, knowing that He is still in control and always will be in control, even if it’s a pagan king He’s dealing with (Prov 21:1).
Romans 8:28 “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
We had a recent controversy between friends end because we decided to “have the funeral.” We decided it best that these two friends shouldn’t trip over what’s behind them. The key to solving their divide was to come together on the things that they agreed on, one of which was the fact that God will work everything out for His purpose, and all things will work according to the chief goal that God has for us. All things means all things; the good (good job and pay), the bad (hard job, low pay), and the ugly (no job, no pay). God can use evil for good (Gen 50:20); just look at the cross (John 3:16).
Hebrews 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”
It is really hard to have faith when you’re in the middle of a storm because you probably can’t even see the shoreline. You might even think the ships going to sink at any moment, but remember this; God sent the disciples into a ship one night, fully knowing that a storm was coming. Sometimes in the providence of God, He will bring us into a storm, but He is sovereign over the storm. Just as the disciples said after seeing Jesus calm the storm, “they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him” (Mark 4:41). Seeing the bigness of God can shrink the worries of today.
Philippians 4:6 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”
The Apostle Paul presents an either/or proposition to us. Do not be anxious about anything but in everything be in prayer, but with thanksgiving. That’s how to let your requests be made known to God. God is pleased when you are enduring trials but still retain your faith and trust in Him. The keys are; no anxiety about anything; prayers of thankfulness for everything in all your requests.
Matthew 6:30 “But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?”
Jesus had just been speaking to the disciples about worrying about the future. We have no control over tomorrow and precious little control over what happens today, but Jesus admonishes us to “not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (Matt 6:34). Remember that He is the God of today and of tomorrow. If we worry about tomorrow today, we’re only borrowing trouble from tomorrow but paying interest on it today. It robs our joy of today when we worry about tomorrow.
Conclusion
Faith is like film; it is best developed in the dark because we can’t develop much faith during the good times when everything is going well. Paul wrote, “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content” (Phil 4:11). Paul said that “I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need” (Phil 4:12) and the key for him was that he knew, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Phil 4:13). Do you know that? Do you believe God’s Word and His sure and certain promises to never leave you or forsake you (Heb 13:5)? How do you learn to be content when you’re unemployed? Just like Paul did…he had to learn it from hard experiences and he had lots of practice at it.
Article by Jack Wellman
Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.
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