I have been fortunate during that last several years to keep my job, when many of my colleagues and friends were laid off from theirs and were unable to find new employment for a long period of time. I too, am now facing some uncertainty as rumors in the media declare that the company I work for us "up for sale". I understand what that means, but not sure what it means for me. Will I be laid off? If so, will anyone want to hire me at my age? Will we have to sell our house? Move? So much uncertainty!
We all experience fear at different times and degrees throughout life. What are you afraid of? Success? Being alone? Not being a good parent or spouse? Getting cancer? Not being successful? Being unemployed? The unknown? Dying?
2 Timothy 1:7 (NLT) 7 For God has not given
us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline
Fear is an emotion that can either motivate us or paralyze us. A certain amount of fear is healthy and part of life preservation. Fear that is generated by things unknown to us or outside of our control can fill us with unhealthy worry, anxiety and stress. God gave us the ability to live our lives in the spirit of controlling the things that we can and then turn the rest over to Him.
This is often a challenge for me, because I have a tendency to want to control everything in my life, as that gives me the security I crave. It is also very exhausting! Learning to control the things that we can and laying the rest at God's feet can be difficult. Have you ever turned something over to God and then taken it back the very next day?
As for my job, well, I can't control what happens to the company, but I can continue to show up everyday with a grateful heart and do the best work that I can in service and honor to God. That is what he asks of us and that we trust him to take care of the rest. He has plans for each of us and brings all things together for good. Even though we can only see today, He knows tomorrow.
I pray that God give you relief from your fears and worry so you can live in peace.
Psalm 34:4 (NLT) 4 I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me.
He
freed me from all my fears.
One of my favorite prayers is the Serenity Prayer:
Serenity Prayer
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and the wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as he did, the sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that he will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next
Amen
Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971)
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