Are You Waiting for the Right Job? Four Reasons to Stay Encouraged

I never realize how impatient I am until I am put in situations that require patience. Be it a delayed train, healing from a surgery or job… am I the only one that finds it so hard to be still?

It’s a shame because there’s so much revelation that comes from being patient and obedient to God, which I am learning in my season of unemployment. One of the biggest realizations I’ve found is that when you’re going through the valley the best thing you can do for yourself is REJOICE.

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds.” James 1:2

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Phillipians 4:6

And oddly enough, as much as I absolutely can’t wait to sign that offer letter and celebrate God’s victory–I learned I don’t have to wait when there is so much to be celebrated now.

Ridiculous, right? To celebrate a season of uncertainty, of no steady income, of crashing in friends homes, of living out of 2 suitcases. But isn’t that God? To use a season such as this to show you a new dimension of yourself or Himself, the way He works, and just how much he loves, provides, fights, and comforts you in the stormy seasons?

How great is our God?

In the case that you’re reading this and are waiting on the big “come through” I want to encourage you–Don’t give up, don’t settle for the first job offer or whatever else comes your way, if it doesn’t feel right.

Below are four major revelations to encourage you to stay obedient and patient as you wait on God’s timing and will for you:

1. Realize that IT’S ALREADY BEEN DONE

I found myself telling people who asked how the job hunt was going that I was “Waiting on God”. I recently had to correct myself because while I may be waiting in the natural, it’s already been sorted for me–since before I was even thought of, my every step was written by the Lord (Jeremiah 1:5). It’s not like God is running around behind the scenes right now, scrambling to get things done. NO! The victory is already mine, the fight is already won, the offer letter signed. Because of this I can maintain my peace (Psalm 52, Exodus 14:14).

2. He’s working Miracles in the midst of your Miracle

I realize how God is using this season to work out other miracles in the lives of those around me. For instance, one of my friends who hasn’t been able to experience God has gotten curious in “this God that I serve,” and that would never have happened had I not gone through this season.

3. Refocus

Instead of putting all your focus into complaining about not having a job- It’s so much more enjoyable to focus on all you have to be grateful for! The simple things, like even the fact that you can finally take advantage of lunch specials, less crowded museums, and volunteer opportunities that you didn’t have time to enjoy when you were working a 9-5pm.

“Enjoy the little things in life, because one day you’ll look back and realize they were the big things”- Anonymous

In addition to focusing on the positive, another attitude to cultivate is one of adventure and expectancy!

Going into interviews, networking events, etc. with this mindset makes things so much more lighthearted and almost like a game of sorts. Besides, what do you have to be nervous about? What’s for you is already yours–you just have to step into it! (2 Corinthians 1:20)

4. Your Identity is in Him!

I realized it’s not about the job. It is about using this season to grow internally, align my identity more with His, and maintain a standard of excellence within the space I am in now.

“See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland”
– Isaiah 43:19