Job Hunting

Are you looking for work and not coming up with anything? Maybe you have a job but it isn’t satisfying.

There is a solution for both situations. It is a spiritual one. In other words, it lies beyond what we see with our eyes, in what God is revealing to our hearts. The book of Psalms in the Bible says, “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits” (68:19). This is a statement of spiritual law that is true and that governs your life. Christ Jesus, the founder of Christianity, constantly showed people the good that was coming to them from God. Jesus healed sickness and even raised people from the dead. He fed thousands when there was only a small amount of food. Those who followed him, who listened to him, found improvement in their lives. Those who chose not to listen or follow did not receive the advantage, even though they could have. Well, the same thing is still true today.

We also have something today that people in Jesus’ time didn’t have — the explanation of his teachings in a discovery of the laws of God, called Christian Science. Mary Baker Eddy discovered these laws over a hundred years ago. There are numerous statements of God’s laws in the Bible. They are always good, always a benefit and help to us. God’s laws can help us when we recognize that they exist, are real, and operate in our lives.

LISTEN to a radio program where I retell this experience in light of the Christmas Giving Season:

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For example, Jesus stated something that can be helpful in relation to finding a job. He said, “Give, and it shall be given unto you” (Luke 6:38). Behind this is the spiritual law that we are complete and already have all good, because God created everything and created it spiritual and good.

Now, thinking about things from this basis is completely different from thinking about things from the basis of materiality. God’s child is not cursed, lacking control, dominated by luck or chance or circumstance, or left on his own to work things out. We are not left alone! We have all the help and benefits that we need, from God, who loves us immeasurably. In order to practice God’s laws, we need to understand them. And we can.

One time after taking a couple months off from my painting business, I was ready to go back to work but no one was calling for work.  I had a mortgage and other bills to pay, so I prayed to God, asking what I needed to do. One word then came to me loud and clear: GIVE. I felt as though I had nothing to give — that I was the one who needed something given to me.

But this was a message from God, reminding me of the spiritual law that says, because God made me as good as He is, I already have every good thing I need. The truth was, I already had an abundance of good. What I needed to do was to share it. Jesus demonstrated that truth by multiplying five loaves of bread and two fishes to feed five thousand people (see Matthew 14:15-21). It had seemed to his disciples that there wasn’t enough, but he knew that because God was the source of good and was always blessing His children, there must be more than enough. The result was that they had many baskets of extra food after everyone was fed.

So I began by thinking about what I had to give. I realized I had my love to give, my time. The first thing I though of was to go visit someone in a nursing home that I knew. I also got more involved in church, teaching in the Sunday School and going to the jail to help out inmates by sharing what I was learning from the Bible with them.

In a few weeks calls started coming in for painting jobs. This all may seem unrelated, but I knew it wasn’t.  I have continued to remember to give.  Even in my work I have focused on giving from then on.

I can honestly say, from that day to this I have always had plenty and for the most part have had more to do than I can do.

In Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, the textbook of Christian Science that was written by Mrs. Eddy, you can read: “Giving does not impoverish us in the service of our Maker, neither does withholding enrich us” (p. 79). This describes the law of God that helped me.

Seeking ways to give, rather than just trying to get, will reap instant rewards. We all have something to give because we’re all children of God. Even a small recognition of this fact, and the willingness to live up to it, result in gainful and satisfying employment.