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However, what things were gain to me, these have I counted loss for Christ. Yes most assuredly, and I count all things to be loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I suffered the loss of all things, and count them nothing but refuse, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own, that which is of the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; Philippians 3:7 WEB

I once had a well paying job with great benefits ( at least by South Carolina standards) as a maintenance supervisor over a crew of men in a factory. It was the only job that I ever had that provided health insurance and a matching 401k. The boss loved me. It was a great job, but I did have to work twelve hours every Sunday. During that time, something began stirring within me. Though I could not attend church, I listened to the Bible all day by keeping an ear bud in one ear. A desire came on me to fast for a while. I can tell you that if your body ever feels like fasting, you can be positively sure that God is prompting you. Nobody desires to fast on their own accord, for feasting is more pleasing.

I began to fast and pray. I would hear myself praying crazy prayers for the Lord to remove anything that was holding me back. Put me where I need to be. Burn anything out of me that needs to go. After a couple of weeks, they suddenly called me to the office and laid me off without warning. They replaced me with a man who was nearly illiterate. I was a bit shocked at first, I felt wronged, and I did not see it coming. I could feel bitterness wanting to come in, but I knew in my heart that God had something better. No one could take my job away unless He allowed it.

I felt that I should be working in a Christian book store anyway, or a Christian environment somehow and God was working on that. Not. He put me right into the middle of huge group of hardcore sinners, the kind that you avoid in the alley. I humbled myself, rose to the occasion, and gave God full permission to do whatever He wanted in my life. Some of them were led to the Lord. Then He put me into my own computer business, through Bible College, and later into ministry.

I probably would have retired as a supervisor there because I was happy with the job, but the Lord had so much more waiting on me once I became willing to let it all go and let Him have His way in my life. Now I welcome being laid off. It has become a sign of promotion to me. Each time it has happened, after I went through the dry time of desperation that follows, it ended up being better. I can honestly say Burn it all down Lord. Paul counted everything that he had lost as rubbish, or dung, compared to what he had gained.

If you face losing a job or work at one that you despise, know that God is in control. No one can take away your job without Him allowing it. Press into Him wholeheartedly. Reject fear and doubt. Know that this will work out for your good. Allow God to remove the things that need to go. Know that promotion is coming, though it may take the scenic route.

Prayer: Father, have Your way in my life. I want more of You. Guide me, teach me, draw me, use me. I surrender to all that You have for me Lord, in the name of Jesus I pray.

Note: Thank you everyone for reading and for all the encouragement and support you sent while we worked on the website. It really meant a lot to us. We are back online here at Refreshing Hope Ministries. I actually enjoyed the time off and feel refreshed, even though we had to set up a new server and rebuild the entire website. God is good to us. Here is a word for some of you that have questions about the plan of God for your life and for those in the desert called unemployment.