Jehovah Jireh

"Jehovah Jireh" -- The LORD will provide (Gen. 22:14)

Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. -- Psalm 34:8


Unemployment is many things, but chief among them for me is this: an opportunity for God to show me his goodness.

When the ax fell I was in the middle of a spiritual renaissance, thanks in large part to a men's group I'd joined, a timely visit from my friend Matt K. and an incredibly worshipful concert with the David Crowder Band. I'm not sure if God was preparing me for the job dissolution in all that or if the job loss was just another part of the renaissance.

In any case, when it came it wasn't the end of the world it might have been. It was, and is, adversity. But in this adversity I've seen the face of God. In the aftermath I heard him ask, "do you trust me?" And I could honestly say yes. Why? Because he's good. He was good when he brought Matt for a night's visit. He was good when he led me to my Thursday morning brothers. He was good when he gave David C and band amazing musical gifts and prompted them to use them to glorify him. He was good when he worked it out for me to go with some complete strangers. Would he not be good in the midst of this trial?

Indeed, isn't this exactly the type of situation where his goodness would be most evident, and when we'd rely on it the most. It is so easy to put our trust in other things: a steady paycheck most of all. It is so easy (especially as a guy) to put our identity in our work too. In losing my job, God was calling me to put my trust in him and remember that my identity has nothing to do with my employment.

So I greeted this uncertain era with a prayer: God you're good. Take care of us and meet our needs.

And he has.

When I sat down and looked at the budget I figured we'd be in big trouble by early February. Here we are at the beginning of March and we're not in big trouble. I could, if asked to, give a thorough accounting of where the money has come from. I can identify "human" sources. But that would be robbing God of the honor he is due, because the money has come from him. He has answered our prayers.

Each and every day that prayer is repeated, and each and every day God responds. He does something that says, "yes, I AM good." and he does something that shows us he will meet out needs.

In the process, I am feeling a great deal of liberty. Freedom from the tyranny of "wants"; freedom from the confines of the central American question "what do you do?"; freedom from un-Biblical cultural expectations; freedom from anxiety.

For many years I've focused a lot on the fear of the Lord and the idea of being lost in his larger story -- not hung up on expecting blessing at every turn and treating God like a divine sugar daddy. It's possible to go too far with that though and underemphasize the personal, individual love of God for his children. The Lord is bringing this into balance for me -- not letting me forget that I am only a part of the larger story, but that I'm an important part and he loves me dearly and wants good things for me.

So praise God ... not for unemployment per se, but for the fact that he redeems it and uses it for his glory.