Good Monday morning! What am I supposed to feel? Something has come to pass that I didn't pray for and consciously tried to avoid praying for. A while back it would have been easy to give into bitterness and anticipate such a thing happening, even to the point of asking God to look into it. However, today I feel only sad that this has happened to yet another person I know. Yes, another job lost, but this time it seems that the shoe is on the other foot so to speak. Is my information correct and accurate, I don't know for sure, but my feelings about it would be the same. I am reminded of the music teacher of ours some years ago who died about ten years after I had thought him already passed on. My feelings the first time around were a bit premature, but when the actual event came along I was only surprised, having endured the normal feelings some time before.
I would imagine that confirmation will be forthcoming, but I don't believe that my feelings will change. After three years of this, I simply don't want anyone else to lose his or her job. It says something about the work the Holy Spirit has done in me that even for the person who sat across that table from me and said, "Hit the trail, bub!" (not an exact quote) that I feel only saddened by his dismissal. As the Spirit works in me and on me, I am simply not the person that I once was in this world. Should I somehow feel vindicated? The world may think so, but in Christ I do not. The worldly thinking would of course assume that I am not satisfied, but that is going the wrong direction. On the contrary I would rather that no more of this would happen. All of us I think are worn down from the job losses of the past 3 or so years. Too much bad news can wear on us.
However, wait just one moment there... the power of prayer has not lost its potency. As with the many of us who have gone through this job loss thing, we can pray for yet one more. We can pray for his healing and for God to use this event in his life to draw this man closer to His Son, Jesus Christ. Each of us can witness that the events in our lives that were and are the most difficult to endure are also those that have brought us running to Jesus time and time again. In a difficult time not one of us may feel a powerful prayer can come out of our quivering lips. But we don't have powerful prayers anyway; we pray to a powerful God!
Kneel down in prayer. Not just for those who have hurt you, but especially for those who have hurt you; not just for those who have been hurt, but especially for those who have been hurt. If a person happens to belong to both groups in your life: pray double for 'em!
Bucky
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