- 1 Cor. 16:14
To: The Recently Unemployed
Subject: CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR NEW PROMOTION !
Your new office cubicle is now a table and chair at the local coffee shop with a free 2-hour WI-FI connection.Look around you.Things are improving.There are fresh cut flowers on your table, and the scenery is constantly changing with people coming in and out of the store for their daily caffeine fix.It sure beats the closed door you used to stare at from your cubicle -- the closed door that blocked your view of the sunlight coming in and the same closed door that was slammed in your face several times each week.
Losing your job is not the end; it is simply the beginning of your next assignment.God has something better for you -- a promotion is on the way, and God is making sure you get there on the exact date and time He needs you to be there.God is just shifting things around, so that He can use you for His glory.He wants you to be where you will be respected, where you can use your gifts and talents to their fullest, and where you can grow.We are constantly in a state of growth, and when your employer hinders your growth, God moves you out, so He can move you up.
When people stop receiving you, they have really stopped receiving God.When people get to the point where they take you for granted, where they do not receive any kind thing you do for them, and where they treat you like you are too stupid to find your way out of a paper bag, God calls that scenario “Pearls before swine.“ (Read Matthew Chapter 7, Verse 6).It is God’s way of telling you that it is time for you to be promoted.
The bible says that we are the head and not the tail, we are above and not beneath.(Read Deuteronomy Chapter 28, Verses 12-13).So, it does not matter what your employer thinks of you.What counts is what God thinks of you. As long as you turn the other cheek, love those that spitefully use you, forgive them daily when they “mock“ everything you do for them all the while serving them in love, then know this, God is very proud of you. (Read Matthew Chapter 5, Verses 43-45).You have passed the test, you have endured persecution to its utmost, (Read 2 Timothy, Chapter 3, Verses 11-13) and He is well-pleased because you have shown them God’s love.
Let me give you an example.I served my employers well, and yet, I was gossiped about, my bosses talked about me behind my back, but would never come and speak with me face to face, I was falsely accused of things I did not do, and yet I endured it all. Despite all this, I would drop to my knees and immediately forgive them and pray for them. (Read Psalm 109:3-5).You see, until someone comes into the knowledge of the truth, how can you not forgive them.It is like yelling at a 3-yr. old child for backing your car into your mailbox.That child did not know how to drive because it had not yet been taught how; that child was still a babe.The same is true in Christianity.
Until people come into the understanding that Jesus was the scapegoat for their sins, until they realize that they must let God take control of their steering wheel so He can control their lives, they are just babes who do not really know how to drive.For you see, the things of the flesh cannot understand the things of the Spirit.(1 Corinthians Chapter 2, Verses 14-15).
Basically, they cannot understand your humbleness and humility when they persecute you because they do not understand the rules and ways of God.(See Luke Chapter 21, Verses 12-13). They mistake your meekness for weakness So, out of their own ignorance, they will make fun of you, accusing you of being a wimp, unable to stand up for yourself when in all actuality you are exhibiting incredible strength of character to turn the other cheek and walk away from those who mock you, without saying a word to them.(See Proverbs Chapter 16, Verses 18-19).
It is important to note that people who refuse to let God control their lives, are the very people that go around trying to control others.They will try to set you up and find a way to beat you into submission to conform to their will and not God’s will.No one is to beat you into submission.No human being is to control you for his or her own personal use; it is bondage.When Jesus died on the cross for us, He set us free from that bondage
Below I have listed a few basic rules to strengthen and encourage you until God puts you in your new assignment.
You losing your job was not a surprise to God. He knew it was coming before you did, and He has already prepared your next new beginning. Remember when Jonah was thrown overboard ON PURPOSE? Well, God had already prepared a whale to swallow Jonah to keep him alive - a secluded place where Jonah could rest, and get ready for his next assignment.
TREAT EACH DAY LIKE CHRISTMAS MORNING, and you are staring at a wrapped gift with your name on it, and no one else’s. It is a gift hand-designed especially for you by God. As you unwrap it, you get excited with anticipation of what it may possibly be, as the contents of that day progresses, it will reveal the next step in a very powerful destiny that God has personally designed only for you.
They may not have appreciated you, but if they are not saved, they do not know the truth. So, how can you hold them accountable for their actions? Do not harbor bitterness -- it keeps you from going forward in your own personal life. Remember God forgives you IMMEDIATELY on a daily basis when you come to Him and ask Him for forgiveness. (Read Matthew Chapter 6, Verse 15). (Read 1 John Chapter 1, Verse 9).
You want to open that daily gift to see what the next piece of the puzzle is. God has big plans for you that He unfolds to you a little at a time each day. (Read Jeremiah Chapter 29, Verse 11). So, do not stop; keep moving forward!
Only God knows 100% of your destiny. Your family, your co-workers, even your pastor does not know 100% of your destiny. Human beings can harbor malice or jealousy in their hearts towards you. They can become so intimidated by who you are in Christ that they sometimes will deliberately steer you in the wrong direction out of spite. Taking their advice and not God’s could leave you heading away from your destiny and not towards it. However, God has nothing but pure unconditional love for you. He will always lead you down the right path, and encourage you every step of the way. Talk to God. Share your feelings and your questions with Him alone. Do this by reading His Word, and He will direct your steps down the correct path. (Proverbs Chapter 3, Verses 5 and 6).
God never leaves you nor forsakes you. (Read Joshua Chapter 1, Verse 5). Faith is trusting in God. Faith is letting God control everything in your life. Let go of the steering wheel, and let God drive. He knows where your next destination is; let Him take you there.
So, your employer thinks he threw you out with yesterday’s trash; he did not. What door God opens, no man can close, and since God opened the door for you to have that job in the first place; it is only God that can close it. It is a very naïve human being that thinks he has the power to override God. (Read Revelations Chapter 3, Verse 8).
Your trials and tribulations have been hard. Don’t you want to hang on to receive God’s blessings for enduring those trials and tribulations? Sure you do. It is your spiritual paycheck from God !
God says you have been found obedient and faithful to His Word. You have passed the test. Receive your reward! (Hebrews 6:15).
Know this, you have been set free, liberated by God from your recent job to receive the promotion He has waiting for you because of your obedience to the things He asked you to do. You have endured the daily dose of verbal abuse, put downs, negative comments, idle gossips and false accusations that would have made even a grown man cry; and . . . you did it all with love. (1 Corinthians Chapter 16, Verses 13-14).
Cross Creek Bridge Ministries
P.O. Box 572391
Tarzana, CA 91357
Tel: (818) 881-2009
Toll-Free: (877) 303-CCBM (2009)
Cross Creek Bridge Ministries is a qualified IRS Section 501(c)(3) Organization