You’ve lost your job, or maybe your spouse has lost their job. Are you and your family in crisis? Some of you will say “no way” while others say “absolutely.” It all depends on how you define the word “crisis.” Most of us associate a crisis with panic, tragedy, or danger. The answer to my question is “yes.” Let me explain why.

I was having coffee with a longtime friend, Don, speaking about this very subject. Don has so much wisdom and was good enough to share some with me. He told me the Greek root of the word “crisis” means to “choose or decide”. The journey through unemployment is full of choices and decision that you, your spouse or a good friend will be making.

Let me share a few of the choices and decisions that lie ahead of you:

• Will you allow this to define you, or will you embrace this as an opportunity and re-define yourself?
• Will you be consumed with anger toward those who caused your unemployment, or will you choose to say, “thanks for the memories” and move on?
• Will you allow yourself to be consumed by fear, worry and anxiety?
• Will you use your time well?
• Will you be willing to do things in your job search that aren’t comfortable for you?
• Will you consider a different career than what you were doing previously?
• The most important decision you have is, who will you trust?

My prayer is that you lean on and trust in God, the one who never changes, who is there for you every step of this journey.

This journey will be a challenge because most of us are not built for being unemployed; we’re built for work. You can work very hard at looking for a job, spend as many hours as you used to work in looking, but the reality is you can’t create a job that is a good match for you and you can’t make them interview you or choose you. That’s God’s job.

In the book of Proverbs, we are reminded to Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6) You can’t do this on your own. Let God help you along in this journey, put your trust in him.

Dale Kreienkamp

Dale Kreienkamp is the author of How Long, O Lord, How Long? Devotions for the Unemployed and Those Who Love Them. He is a Human Resources executive and consultant who has experienced a personal journey of unemployment twice when both positions were eliminated in organizational restructuring.  These personal experiences created a desire within him to help others impacted by unemployment through inspirational devotions.  Dale is also an active volunteer at his home church and leader in his local community.