It was a typical Wednesday morning, I was still in bed and I just finished listening to my usual morning meditation when my husband (who works the night shift in the living room) came in to our bedroom smiling and said,
“Good morning! I have good news! I lost my job!”
I was jolted by my husband’s words.
As I listened to him speak, my mind began to whirl, Did he just say what I thought he said? No, he must be joking. This can’t possibly be happening.
But he confirmed that it was real and it was final. I hugged him, then listened to him share the details of this unexpected happening.
We prayed together, we acknowledged God’s sovereignty and plan for our lives, and we asked for His peace in the midst of all the uncertainty. I encouraged him by sharing God’s promise in Jeremiah 29:11
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
After he left, I continued to sit there, stunned. Every muscle in my body felt heavy and sluggish. I continued to say over and over, “How can this be?”
This happened last week, on January 20, 2021.
My husband had told me that he was terminated from his job due to a company issue that was beyond his control. As I sat there on that Wednesday morning, my thoughts changed to,
What do we do now? How would we survive? My income could not sustain us. What steps should we take?
I asked God to forgive me for worrying, then I took out my bible and journal and I meditated on what God says in Matthew 6:25, 6:32-33.
Do not be worried about the food and drink you need in order to stay alive, or about clothes for your body. Your father in heaven knows that you need all these things. Instead, be concerned above everything else with the Kingdom of God and with what he requires of you, and he will provide you with all these other things.
It’s been a few days since my husband lost his job and there are times when I see him feeling worried, angry, and discouraged that even getting out of bed in the morning was a monumental task.
When he remembers that he’s now jobless due to no fault of his own, that he was being blamed for something that was beyond his control, that he was being accused for something that he didn’t do, he starts feeling bitter and angry.
But I always encourage and remind him of what God says in Psalm 37.
Give yourself to the Lord, trust in him, and he will help you.
He will make your righteousness shine like the noonday sun.
Be patient and wait for the Lord to act, don’t be worried about those who prosper or those who succeed in their evil plans.
Don’t give in to worry or anger, it only leads to trouble.
Put your hope in the Lord and obey his commands. The Lord saves the righteous and protects them in times of trouble.
They will not suffer when times are bad, they will have enough in time of famine.
The little that a good person owns is worth more than the wealth of all the wicked.
Soon the wicked will disappear, but the humble will possess the land and enjoy prosperity and peace.
Why did God allow my husband to lose his job?
Today, during my quite time in the terrace at 6 o’clock in the morning, God inspired me to think, reflect, and ask this question, “Why did God allow my husband to lose his job?”
I begin to discern how God can bring good out of the situation and I ask God to show me the benefits of this trial.
God allowed my husband to lose his job because maybe He wants to teach us some of these lessons:
1. To rely on the Lord for provision rather than on the job or employer.
When things are going well, we sometimes forget to pray and acknowledge God as our source. But in Deuteronomy 8:18, we are commanded to
remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth.
When God removes our earthly source of income, He is affirming our need to totally depend upon Him. When we don’t have regular employment or when we don’t know where to get our next meal or how to pay our bills, we are usually more willing to turn to God to meet our needs.
2. To consider whether we have been faithful to tithe.
When my husband told me that he lost his job, the first thing that came to my mind was tithing.
I admit that we failed to tithe as a family and I asked God to forgive us for our shortcomings. I have been faithful with my own tithes but I haven’t been able to encourage my husband enough to give his own tithes.
Two years ago, my husband prayed for a high paying job and promised to give his tithes. God answered his prayer and he got a good and high paying job last year in the midst of the pandemic. But… he failed to do what he promised – to give his tithes.
In Malachi 3:10-11, God promises to open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing to those who honor Him with the firstfruits of all their increase. However, if proper tithes and offerings are not given, the devourer snatches away resources.
The loss of his job is a powerful motivation to start tithing with any new income that the Lord provides for him, and I pray that God will give him the wisdom to consider tithing faithfully.
3. To be grateful for what God has given.
It is easy to become dissatisfied with the things we have and to look forward to buying bigger and better items that we may not really need.
Without a steady income, we can learn to appreciate what we do have and learn to take better care of our possessions so we can enjoy them longer.
4. To be frugal and resourceful.
The absence of monthly paychecks is a great motivation to be careful in the way we spend money and to look for ways to be frugal and resourceful.
5. To expose the foolishness of buying unnecessary items.
When we have ample funds, it is tempting to spend extra money on things that aren’t really necessary.
I have high respect for my husband and I appreciate everything he does for the family, but sometimes, I don’t like it when he purchases things that he later guilted himself for buying. They may seem like small expenses but they add up and they almost always end up in the trash.
With limited funds now, we are learning to prioritize needs over wants and avoid unnecessary spending.
6. To consider the possibility of starting a home business.
My husband has started sending applications and while waiting for new job opportunities, he’s also considering to start a business. He has business ideas but we’re still praying about it. We don’t know what God has in store for him, but we will continue to trust in Him.
7. To spend more time with the family and to catch up on his woodwork projects.
Before losing his job, my husband used to work the night shift and Macey missed having bedtime stories with her dad.
Now that he is currently unemployed, he has more time with us, we have more bedtime stories with Macey, we can sleep together as a family at night, and he has more time to cook for us and to play with Macey at daytime.
He now also has plenty of time to work on his woodwork projects. In fact, he just finished making his cabinet today and he’s happy with what he has accomplished.
8. To Allow me to work harder on my blog
I also thought that maybe God allowed my husband to lose his job so that I can have more time to work on my blog.
Since I am a full-time mom and home maker, I have very limited time to work on my passion. And now that my husband is currently unemployed, maybe he would allow me to work longer hours while he takes care of Macey and helps with some chores.
Again, I don’t know what God is doing in the background, but I know that He has a good plan for us.
Showing Support To My Husband
I Encourage Him
There are days when my husband, John, needed me to be his greatest encourager, while he struggled with thinking that he is now jobless and that he is not good enough to get a job to take care of his family.
I needed to remind him how important he is to our family, how proud we are of him, and how much we loved him. He needed to be reminded that it is God who is in control and He is worthy of our trust. God would open that door of employment for him when He knew best.
I also help him update his resume and online profiles and give him resources to improve his skills.
I Pray For Him
What greater gift can I give to my husband than to pray for him, to commit him to the protection and care of the One who knows him more intimately than me, and who loves him even more than I ever could?
Many times I would not know what to say to John when he is feeling down or frustrated. I knew that his feelings are real, but I also knew that Satan wanted nothing more than to keep him feeling that way.
Psalm 145:14 says,
The Lord helps the fallen and lifts up those bent beneath their loads.
I often had to ask God to meet John‘s needs, because I knew I couldn’t! But you know, John losing his job affected the whole family, not just him.
But God is faithful. He encourages us in James 1:2-4 to
Consider it all joy, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
Praying together as a couple was always a sporadic thing for us over the years. But when God brought this change and uncertainty to our lives, there was no question that we needed to draw together and especially pray together if we were going to make it through this.
Now we pray about everything, whether it’s a decision to be made, or just about whatever we are feeling; we bring it before God together. We also pray together for one another, for Macey, and for our extended families and friends who needed our prayers. It’s a tremendous way to demonstrate our love for each other, and to feel like we are tackling the challenges of life as a team.
Final Thoughts
Life is filled with many kinds of losses. All losses hurt, whether they are big ones or little ones. Some losses are temporary while others are permanent. We recover quickly from some losses; others take months or years to absorb.
Losing a job can be devastating to anyone, especially the breadwinner of a family like my husband. Job loss can produce many emotions, but fear is usually at the root of any response.
How are we going to pay the bills? Will we be able to pay our insurances next month? How are we going to continue saving for our dream house?
These and many other concerns are very real and can seem extremely threatening. If we keep our eyes on the waves, we will sink into despair and hopelessness.
This is a time when it is difficult but imperative that we focus on Jesus, not on the problems. This is a time to remember that He, not our job, is our source. That He, not our money or finances, is our true security.
We may go through some real challenges. We may have to tighten our belts and make some sacrifices. These struggles are not easy, but with Jesus we can find hope.
When we rise above the storm, we see the problem as God sees. We now speak to the problem and tell the problem how big our God is.
Our job may be gone. Our savings may not be enough to pay all the bills and the upcoming expenses. But we know that Jesus will make a way. As what Paul says in Philippians 4:19
My God will supply all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.