When we’re blindsided by a layoff or business failure our first reaction is generally panic. That’s pretty normal. The problem is when we stay in that mode.
Photo by flickrohit
We thought we had a stable job or a sure fire business that’s suddenly been ripped out from under us.
So we thrash. We fret, “I’ve got to find something right now. What if I don’t find anything? What then?” And we go into hyper-drive.
Yet, the most important thing at that moment may be to stop and listen to your heart and see where God is leading you.
But we’re so caught up in panic we simply can’t settle down.
I’ve been there way too often and I’ve found the only way to overcome that panic is to change my focus. Instead of focusing on all the things that could go wrong I focused instead on what God was doing.
Oh, I was busy working on my resume or making phone calls. But in those down times when I would be worrying about all the potential problems I changed my focus onto God’s promises to lead and bless me.
And interestingly what I found was enough calm in the storm to think clearly. And enough peace so I could sense God’s quiet promptings.
Yes, worry kept trying to crowd back in and at times did. But I could keep it at bay most of the time so I could focus on productive steps to solve the issues.
James writes, “If you need wisdom ask God for it and he will flood you with it. But when you ask believe you will receive it because the one who doubts is like a wave in the sea whipped around by the wind.” (James 1: 5-6)
Our minds can focus on faith or doubt but not both.
Ok, so right now you may be in the midst of that kind of storm. Your career is shutting down and it’s not coming back. Big time stress.
So what do you do? You’ve got bills to pay and perhaps a family to take care of. The storm is howling around you.
You need direction like you’ve never needed it before. You want to hear God’s quiet voice but the worry screams so loud it drowns out everything else.
You need to control your focus.
Expect God to speak to you. Anticipate sensing his quiet guidance.
Trust that he knows what you’re going through and has a plan to bless you.
Believe that he wants to guide you into that blessed life through this circumstance.
Look for the new opportunities that wait for you.
And when our minds focus on God’s promises instead of the potential problems the dynamic shifts. Suddenly we’re not just a victim but we’re looking for new direction.
We stop obsessing about our problems and seek opportunities.
And we stop listening to our worry and start listening for God’s voice.
The challenges won’t magically disappear but we’ll find calm in the midst to deal effectively with them.
But what about when the worry keeps overwhelming us? What do we do then? We’ll talk about that in the next post.
When have you been blindsided by losing a job? What did you focus on to help you find calm?
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