Job forecasting with God

A Christian Science perspective.

The employment outlook in the news has shown little sign of improvement. If you’re one of the many who aren’t finding a good job, hang in there. If you do have a job, it’s still an important issue for all of us to consider more fully. Our prayers can support everyone’s desire to be fully and joyfully employed.

To me that means turning away from the depressing figures that make it seem as if getting a job is impossible, and relating the issue to God, divine Love. If I’m assessing the possible ways of improving things, I’m going with this counsel from the Bible: “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding” (Prov. 3:5). God is our Creator, the source of our lives. Turning to Him to tell us about the direction and forecast for our lives makes entire sense. This I’ve proved on more than one occasion.

Some years back, during a point when I was underemployed, I devoted a week solely to prayer and spiritual study. It was a great time. In fact, the experience produced in me a profound new interest. Then, three weeks later, a job offer came out of the blue – exactly along the lines of this new interest.

As remarkable as this experience was, I really wasn’t surprised. I knew where my new interest had come from; it was inspired through prayer. The prayer had opened my thought to a more spiritual understanding of who I am and my relationship to God. It was natural for a clearer understanding of my talents and abilities to result in the new work.

Experiences like this have shown me that the state of the economy or the considerations of employers do not have to dictate our lives. Human study can register the current weather or the employment status of the people in a community, but it is God who determines the purpose of creation. And in discovering more of this divine purpose, we find only good. In fact, we find all that is truly good and scientifically reliable.

This is what the Discoverer of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy, found. She wrote: “All Science is divine. Human thought never projected the least portion of true being” (“Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” p. 126). Under the scientific order that God has established for His relationship with creation, He would have us each day express more and more of His good, productive nature. This is ultimately our only reliable jobs forecast. While of course we give matters our best human consideration, no human judgment or outlook determines what we truly are or will be.

There’s a great freedom in this approach. We have one source for our guidance, and one comprehensive plan that needs to be considered. And the plan certainly has a place for everyone. God did not create a universe with insufficient places or purpose to go with that creation. Each of us belongs and plays an important role.

Sometimes it takes quite a bit of faith, humility, and even a struggle within, to go along with all this and drop into God’s arms and plans. Particularly when so many people are looking for work, it’s common to feel that everyone needs to fight for something that’s limited. There is, however, a different way to look at things. Maybe there’s plenty of good new purpose for everyone and we’re struggling to see what it is. Adopting a humbler faith in God, and pursuing further discovery of His purpose in our lives, can do much to turn things around.

If this sounds simplistic, or unfair to those who’ve been looking long and hard for a job, there may be more to the equation that we need to consider. In fact, the rest of the answer might include approaching the issue in a more global way. Unemployment and underemployment are not problems personal to those affected. While it surely feels personal, the whole world – not just the unemployed – needs to see more of God’s government in life.

God has already established a place for each of us, a place that’s filled with satisfaction and goodness.

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