Scripture can ease feeling of loss during unemployment

Unemployment is spreading like a cancer in our communities.

And the impacts are not merely financial.

Loss of identity. Loss of purpose. Loss of security.

Anyone enduring a time of joblessness – and the duress it brings – knows they’ve lost more than a paycheck.

The Scriptures give us real help in such times. God’s word is the sure footing we need to walk through life’s storms victoriously, and also help others do so.

When we need staying power, a means of enduring with hope, here’s what the Bible tells us:

Stay in the Word: Despair and depression attack when we cling to wrong expectations. Without intending to, we often believe lies.

“Life should be fair.” “Pain is avoidable.” “Christians shouldn’t feel anger or depression.” “I deserve better.” “If I do the right things, my problems will go away.”

All of these statements have two things in common. They’re thoughts that influence our attitudes from time to time. And they’re lies.

A steady dose of God’s truth inoculates us against the lies we’re tempted to believe. Psalm 119:24 (NKJV) says, “Your testimonies also are my delight and my counselors.”

When we’re discouraged and stressed out, we’re not always able to think rightly or make wise decisions. The wisdom and truth of God’s word is our best counselor.

Stay in the herd: Withdrawing from others is a common reaction to strain. We want to be left alone in our misery. But when occasional solitude turns into isolation, we’re in danger.

By God’s design, the church is a body. Each believer in Jesus Christ is a vital member of that body who needs others, and is needed by others.

“… think of ways to encourage one another to outbursts of love and good deeds. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other …” (Hebrews 10:23-25 – NLT).

By staying in fellowship with other Christians, even when we don’t feel like it, we open ourselves up to the help and encouragement they have to offer us. We see that others have serious problems, too. We experience the vital truth that we’re not designed to go through life alone.

Stay active: No, I don’t mean just physical exercise. Unemployment is a time when a person must intentionally fight away idleness.

God created us to work, create, serve. We’re just not meant to be idle; that’s why the “down time” of unemployment is so difficult emotionally.

When we look for ways to serve others and act on what we see, we’re not just filling time. We’re reflecting the heart of Jesus to the world around us.

Jesus said, “For even I … came here not to be served but to serve others, and to give my life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45 – NLT).

Yes, serving others helps them, but also keeps us from retreating into ourselves. Selfless service keeps our world from shrinking to the point that all we can see are its problems.

Stay grateful: The saints who lived before us so often responded to hardship with thanksgiving: “This is my anguish. But … I will remember the works of the Lord” (Psalm 77:10-11 – NKJV).

Remembering God’s past faithfulness is a tonic in tough times. The truth is, God has provided in the past, and because God does not change, He can be trusted with our future. We can bank on it, and be thankful for it.

Psalm 42:11 says, “Why am I discouraged? Why so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again – my Savior and my God!”