Do You Feel Imprisoned By Unemployment or Underemployment?

“The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered,
and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master.”
Genesis 39:24

Underemployment or unemployment can certainly feel like imprisonment in a prison without bars, where you feel hopeless and helpless, but there is hope, and there is a way out…

“The Lord was with Joseph and He prospered…”  You read that right. The Lord was with him. As a slave in Potiphar’s house… As a captive in Pharaoh’s prison. The text doesn’t say the Lord released him from his slavery or from his prison cell. It says It says He was with him right there in the midst of both of those struggles.

We see later that Joseph was released from prison, but that was after thirteen years of slavery and confinement. God chose to bless him where he was, rather than have him immediately released, despite the fact that it was the actions of others that got him enslaved in the first place. And despite the fact that it was a false accusation that got him thrown in prison.

You read it accurately, God didn’t see to his release despite the fact that he was innocent of wrongdoing. There’s a gigantic lesson there.

You may be in the prison of unemployment or underemployment through no fault of your own. It may be as the result of a faltering economy due to something like today’s Coronavirus pandemic, or poor business decisions by the management where you worked, or a vengeful decision by someone that had the power to terminate your employment.

Though your unemployment seems unfair…

You may be thinking, “What happened to me just wasn’t fair. It was unjust. It was just wrong.” And you may be entirely correct. You could say exactly the same things about Joseph’s situation.

The “why” is really not important. The “what” happened is really not important. These kind of things happen to us all the time. The “who” is what’s important; that’s the lesson to be learned.

Who you are when treated unfairly. Who you are when life takes a sour turn. Who you are when you end up in life’s prisons. And Who you are is a child of the King. You can trust him there as well as anywhere.

When you are treated unfairly, when life takes a sour turn, when you end up in life’s prison, remember to be true to your God and true to yourself…As a child of the King, that is your calling!

And God will be with you as He was with Joseph. And God will bless you as He blessed Joseph. And God will promote you in His time, to His place of His choosing, and you will find fulfilment and blessing there also.

Dear Father King, my trust runs thin very soon when things don’t go as I would like. Help me to be who you made me to be wherever I am, whatever I am experiencing.

If you would like to explore working with a Christian centered Career Coach, Contact me for a no-obligation 60-90 minute job search consultation with America’s Job Searching Coach, or text me at 425-220-0707  and we can discuss your situation, what you would like to achieve, and structure your job search to fit your uniqueness.

I am also available to speak to groups.