Overcoming Joblessness Discouragement Through Hope
August 3, 2009
by Jodi Bishop
I know most of you already know about Randy getting a job. Randy’s job is temporary (in hopes of becoming permanent). If it does not become permanent we know God has something better in store for us. He is working for Wyeth in vaccines so Randy is gaining a great deal of experiencing which opens more doors for other job opportunities.
Thank you so much for your prayers. You know this has been a good journey for me and I thought when Randy lost his job this was all about him. God has taught me so much through this journey. I knew the day Randy lost his job before he knew because God showed me through some encouraging scriptures. When Randy lost his job I knew right away God was going to provide for us and we would have no worries. And He did provide for us. At the beginning I was standing on His word, trusting Him, and studying His word. I was praying for God to open the right doors for the right job and close the doors that were not for Randy. After awhile we were not hearing anything from any of the jobs Randy was applying for, but that was ok because I was trusting God. Around the end of April I was beginning to get a little antsy and was struggling. I was still happy telling people, “yea Randy lost his job but God is so good, bla bla bla.” Deep inside I was questioning why it was taking so long but God kept reminding me of Jeremiah 29:11. That was one of the first scriptures He gave me. The word Hope kept coming into my path. I saw that word constantly. Also praise and worship songs kept crossing my path that were so encouraging and gave me a peace over the situation.
Sometime in April I picked up the book “The Battlefield of The Mind” by Joyce Meyer. This book has helped guide me through my journey. I didn’t buy this book thinking it was going to help me out with the situation we were in. I just felt there were some areas in my life where my mind could use some training. Around chapter 4 things in my life started lining up with every chapter this book was talking about. I was feeling very discouraged at this point yet the word hope kept appearing in my mind, in reading the word, through the bible study I began taking, and even Pastor Glenn at Church Alive began teaching on hope. But I was still fighting discouragement. Then, in Chapter 4, I learned that discouragement destroys hope, without hope we give up. Wow, that was powerful, so I decided no more being discouraged. So I kept plowing through and standing on His word. Then I found myself reasoning why we were not hearing back from this job and wonder why this is not happening and maybe God this and God that. I was getting myself so consumed in trying to reason out and understand what God’s plan was in this situation. The second thing I learned from reading this book, was that reasoning leads to confusion. Then I realized that I was not allowing God to be in control and I was not completely trusting Him.
In May I took the kids and we went to Tennessee. Wow, the things He taught me there. Randy called me on Monday and said Wyeth offered him the position. The pay was a little more than half of the pay he was making at GSK. So we were taking a big cut plus we would have to pay for insurance and of course this is temporary. I tried to be excited over the phone knowing Randy was actually a little excited about this job. But I was busting his bubble because I was questioning everything. I got off the phone and was in so much doubt over this job, but the next chapter I picked up that night was titled, “A Doubtful and Unbelieving Mind.” That chapter was so encouraging and I felt better and knew I needed to encourage Randy to do what he thought was best and I would support him. The next day I called Randy and told him I supported his decision and to accept the position if that is what he felt. Then he told me he saw a couple of postings at GSK. So he decided to wait about calling Wyeth back and apply at GSK. I was kind of excited. So I prayed about it and that night I read my next chapter, “An Anxious and Worried Mind.” After reading that chapter there was one scripture that stuck out in my mind. I actually read over that scripture and what Joyce said a couple of times. The scripture says, “Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father keeps feeding them. Are you not worth much more than they? Matthew 6:26. Joyce points out you never see birds nervous about where their next meal is coming from and aren’t you worth more than a bird. So the next morning Randy calls and said Wyeth had called and they have reviewed his resume and they feel they are offering him too low and possibly are going to offer him $10 more an hour. I was so excited. Whew, that was what I needed to hear to feel better about things. Then later that afternoon, my sister and Brianna came in and told me about some small bird outside the door. I opened the door and there it sat. Of course I begin talking to it and it actually turned its head toward me blinking it’s eyes and it dawned on me what I had read the night before from Matthew 6:26. I smiled and said, “God you are confirming what you showed me in your word last night, God you are good.” My journey is far from over. I have grown so much and I thought I had grown so much before. Like I said above God has so much more in store for us because he doesn’t settle for temporary he settles for permanent.
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