Impossible situation

[mjcecomc]

So i stepped down from my job about a month ago without another job to go. I have been leading a Christian charity (not for profit) for 3 years but felt God calling me out of this role. Myself and my wife thought God was telling us to take some time out from this busy role to explore a possible calling to full time ministry. We felt i should try to get another temporary job in the meantime so we could keep paying the bills.

A month later i have found it impossible to find a temporary job. I had some interviews before i left the previous CEO position, but didnt get them. I have interviews since leaving and not got those jobs either. We feel God has led us into an impossible situation as our savings are starting to run down and we need some income to at least pay the bills. I have a few possibilities for jobs on the horizon, but this could take weeks to materialise and we need some income before then. we have taken a step of faith but are currently feeling anxious and quite fearful of where God has led us. We know that there are many examples in the bible of god showing up to lead his people out of impossible circumstances. anyone ever been in a predicament like this. We need some encouragement

 

[Autumnleaf]

You quit a job before you had another one. We tend to create the life we live in by our actions. If God wanted you to take another job your phone would have rang with an offer before you quit the other one. Water under the bridge...

Update your resume' and have a friend check your references to make sure nobody is undermining you on that end. Then call all your old connections and hit the streets, and your knees in prayer day in and day out until something comes up.

Maybe God doesn't want you to have a traditional job. If God really wanted you to quit the other one then he may have something special in store for you and yours. Good luck with that. - Sounds flippant but I mean it. If you and your wife don't pray together daily then I suggest you start.

 

[mjcecomc]

to be honest i dont find that response very helpful at all. try opening your mind! doesn't faith mean responding to Gods prompting even we don't have the full picture and understand everything. Is that the level of advice on this site i'll close down my profile! Hopeless - not got a clue

 

[ezeric]

I've seen missionaries "hearing the call" to go on missions trips, only to come back defeated and having no money.

Others Christian Business men, giving up their work to do full time church stuff - only to go broke and lose their families and homes.

I don't know how old you are brother, but I've seen TOO MANY TIMES, loving saints giving up what they were doing to do FULL TIME ministry when you never see that in the Bible.
Paul worked and actually supplied the needs of his ministry team, and never 'took' from any church (group of believers).
Paul actually saying "I supplied the needs with my own hands, and not only for myself but my companions. " Acts 20:34
What preacher would have the 'guts' to take nothing from their church group - instead supplying their own needs!

MOST preachers today, make their money by placing saints under a burden to tithe, they teach others to live by faith (and tithe) when they make their money by taking from the flock - actually fleecing the flock.

I would say GOD didn't lead you into full time ministry like this.
How about this idea:
You were ALREADY in ministry at your last job, making money and providing for your family as well as helping and serving people in and around your business and outside too.

JESUS saying "GO into all the world" is actually "AS you go into all the world".

Get a job, take anything - take the LORDS forgiveness for presumption, and tell the LORD "you want to do HIS will and work, wherever that is, to lead you there.

Its tough, but the LORD will help you.

Praying for you brother and your family.

-eric

 

[mjcecomc]

ok im going to delete my profile. Your advice is inapporopraite, wrong, and out of conext. It should be you brother that we should be praying for and your complete lack of faith or understanding

 

[ezeric]

ok im going to delete my profile. Your advice is inapporopraite, wrong, and out of conext. It should be you brother that we should be praying for and your complete lack of faith or understanding

Don't remove your profile on account of me, or on anybodies account unless it is something you really want to do.

I wasn't trying to be harsh, and do understand the situation you are in (to a degree) having lost everything myself in life and having to get food from a food bank.

I wonder, have you EVER seen what I am talking about?
Well meaning, loving saints (like you), getting into deep trouble.
I've seen it over and over again, and it isn't abundant life.

-eric

 

[Life2Christ]

A few years ago I was in a job that I quit without have another one lined up. I prayed for months before I quit. This was not something I did in an emotional state. I was being forced out of my job by an evil person, or rather a person doing evil actions. I prayed for the man and I prayed that God would tell me what to do.

So I quit and then went on vacation to clear my head. When I returned from vacation, I had 2 job offers. I believe this was a straight-up miracle from God. The jobs just fell into my lap. The evil person at my job ended up being demoted and then eventually lef the company.

I don't thikn the previous people were being mean. They were being real with you. When a miracle from God happens, it doesn't happen lightly. There are many forces at work for good. Just because you feel led doesn't mean you can alter your life in a dramatic way, althugh sometimes that is what it takes.

Have faith. Find a job and then slowly build your ministry from there. You need income.

 

[Billy Bayou]

I think what needs to be realized here is that God will never put you in a situation that you cannot cope with. When it gets too much for you, He will give you a way out.
Although the advice given here was a little harsh, I have to agree with it. However, having said that, it's done and cannot be undone. Time to move forward. What ever decision you make, God will work with it to His benefit. He won't leave you high and dry. Once you realize that next time you should stick it out until God lines you up with another job, you are over that and learned from a mistake.

Now, as a loving brother in Christ, I also agree with the other advice here. Get your resume together, get on your knees and get hitting the street. Even if you have to flip burgers to make ends meet and then keep looking. What are your other options... charity?

Time to start knocking on doors until one of them opens. Then, step through it with God's blessing and faith that He is carrying you through this time.

 

[aiki]

So i stepped down from my job about a month ago without another job to go. I have been leading a Christian charity (not for profit) for 3 years but felt God calling me out of this role. Myself and my wife thought God was telling us to take some time out from this busy role to explore a possible calling to full time ministry. We felt i should try to get another temporary job in the meantime so we could keep paying the bills.

"God's will done God's way will never lack God's supply." - Hudson Taylor, founder of the China Inland Mission.

One of the primary ways God reveals His direction to us is through how He supplies for what we believe He has called us to do. If God is not supplying for your new ministry venture, you should consider that you may have mistaken His will or jumped the gun on it. I'm not saying you have, only that it is something to seriously consider.

Often God makes us wait until the last possible moment to provide for our needs. He does this for two reasons: to stretch our faith and to make it clear that He is the One who has provided for our needs. This isn't always a pleasant experience. Nail-biting is common. My experience, though, has been that God is no man's debtor, that He keeps His promises, and that He may be trusted completely.

we have taken a step of faith but are currently feeling anxious and quite fearful of where God has led us. We know that there are many examples in the bible of god showing up to lead his people out of impossible circumstances.

Well, what we think we need and what God knows we actually need are not always necessarily the same thing. It can be painful coming to understand this. Hudson Taylor, who I have quoted above, lost his first wife and several of his children while serving the Lord in China. Strangely, at least to modern believers, he did not pack his bags and go home. He learned that his work for the Lord did not require the company of his beloved wife and children. He could do the work God had called him to do without them. What a terribly hard truth to encounter! But Hudson was absolutely certain that he was doing what he should be doing and not even the death of many loved one's could dissuade him from his course. Do you have this sort of certainty about what you're doing? Are you willing to discover that what you think you need and what you actually need may be two very different things? I hope so. THis certainty and understanding are vital to staying the course in ministry. If you don't have such certainty, I should not go a step farther until it is obtained. If you cannot be content with God only, you have a weakness the devil can exploit. Serving God in a minstry is a wonderful thing, but it is also a very serious thing, too. Count the cost, brother.

Selah.

 

[LilLamb219]

ok im going to delete my profile. Your advice is inapporopraite, wrong, and out of conext. It should be you brother that we should be praying for and your complete lack of faith or understanding

Flaming people won't help your situation at all.

You should really stop and consider what these good Christians are trying to tell you and not respond in the manner that you are.

It's very possible that our GOD did not lead you anywhere but that you misinterpreted what He wants from you.

You've been given some wonderful advice on here.

 

[Quasicentennial]

For me, currently working as a part time casual laborer such as the delivery of junkmail in letterboxes as a walker and a home product catalogue as a home distributor. Terribly hard work on your feet as I seem to buy a new pair of running shoes every 10 months for the past six years:.
I feel that ministry is mathematically impossible for every member of my church or even other churches who know how to speak up and basically talk about most of their life experiences that are similar to the prophets or disciples of Jesus, besides what's going on with their ups and downs in the bible:.
Ministry no doubt is a career that keeps your head above water financially and I do feel somewhat having "missed the bus" in a sense that you feel that you are too late because someone else has already been a step ahead of you in starting their ministry:.
Then it suddenly became a realization that there so many coincidental "want to start up my ministry" thoughts of other Christians in my local community as if Jesus gave me the psychic ability to read their thoughts and just be relaxed about it because these are Christians who want to be brave in showing their true hidden abilities when it comes to communication of Christ to the lost, sick and poor:.
So, with an open mind about my unknown brothers and sisters of Christ who want to spread the Word of God based on population, demographics and Christian church denominations - I remain a simple Christian with the job that I do as there is no comparison discrimination when it comes to feeling superior just because one owns a ministry doesn't mean one is above Christians with an low-income-surviving job such as myself.;'*';.

 

[CounselorForChrist]

ok im going to delete my profile. Your advice is inapporopraite, wrong, and out of conext. It should be you brother that we should be praying for and your complete lack of faith or understanding

You ask for advice then get upset when its given? I didn't really see anything harsh about the initial response to your opening post. As christians we have to learn to grow thick shells because life will be fill of people giving us differing opinions. I agree with what is being said, sometimes we think God is telling us something, but its actually ourselves.

The first woman I was with I ignored all the red flags I was given because I KNEW God was telling me she was the one. I swore up and down she was the one. God told me so. Despite the fact she talked to me badly, looked at porn, smoked weed, smoked cigs, drank vodka all the time, talked bad about me and my family behind my back. Even despite the fact she slept and LIVED with her ex when we were together. It couldn't be any more obvious she was not meant for me. But I still said God told me otherwise.

Thankfully after she tried to kill me and herself with a knife I realized it was not God telling me she was the one. It was myself (or the devil perhaps).

 

[Autumnleaf]

to be honest i dont find that response very helpful at all. try opening your mind! doesn't faith mean responding to Gods prompting even we don't have the full picture and understand everything. Is that the level of advice on this site i'll close down my profile! Hopeless - not got a clue

Oh? I meant that you should pray for a million dollars and your problems will be solved.

But seriously, do you really think I was off base in what I posted? You must have audibly heard God tell you to quit your job to be so certain things would work out right? I feel like quitting my job several times per day but I know God isn't going to have a stork drop off the rent for me if I do that.

 

[DiscipleHeLovesToo]

So i stepped down from my job about a month ago without another job to go. I have been leading a Christian charity (not for profit) for 3 years but felt God calling me out of this role. Myself and my wife thought God was telling us to take some time out from this busy role to explore a possible calling to full time ministry. We felt i should try to get another temporary job in the meantime so we could keep paying the bills.

A month later i have found it impossible to find a temporary job. I had some interviews before i left the previous CEO position, but didnt get them. I have interviews since leaving and not got those jobs either. We feel God has led us into an impossible situation as our savings are starting to run down and we need some income to at least pay the bills. I have a few possibilities for jobs on the horizon, but this could take weeks to materialise and we need some income before then. we have taken a step of faith but are currently feeling anxious and quite fearful of where God has led us. We know that there are many examples in the bible of god showing up to lead his people out of impossible circumstances. anyone ever been in a predicament like this. We need some encouragement

Mar 10:26-30 KJV
(26) And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved?
(27) And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.
(28) Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee.
(29) And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's,
(30) But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.

the hard part of walking by faith is that each step looks like one step past the edge of a cliff; continue to count God faithful - if you lose everything you have as a result of believing you've heard from God and stepping out in faith, remember that He has promised you 100 fold in this time!

even if you did misunderstand Him, if your heart was set to follow His leading, you can count on His grace to pull you through anyway. remember when it seemed like you'd never find a wife? well, He was faithful then, right?

Heb 10:32-33 KJV
(32) But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions;
(33) Partly, whilst ye were made a gazingstock both by reproaches and afflictions; and partly, whilst ye became companions of them that were so used.
...
Heb 10:35-36 KJV
(35) Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.
(36) For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.

 

[paul1149]

Abram also got up and left everything on a promise, not knowing where he was going. We need to be careful about criticism.

But we also need to be very careful when taking a risk like that, that we are hearing God correctly.

 

[Autumnleaf]

Abram also got up and left everything on a promise, not knowing where he was going. We need to be careful about criticism.

But we also need to be very careful when taking a risk like that, that we are hearing God correctly.

God spoke to Abraham. If God spoke to the OP then he's golden and has nothing to worry about.

 

[parsley]

It is a very frustrating position to be in.

Many of the people giving this advice have endured this before, and are giving you normal, spiritual job search suggestions.

If you are truly called to full-time ministry, then you will be dealing with a congregation where 7% are as frustrated as you are now, looking for work.

Employment Situation Summary

Among your young adult group, 21% will be actively looking for work, while another percentage will still be in school and others not yet looking for work.

The growing part-time trend will lead to fewer committee leaders because they will be working two, three, four part-time jobs at once to make ends meet.

There will be long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) coming to you for counseling, saying the same thing week after week about trying and not getting anywhere.

And disabled members who wanted to work but couldn't. They will need accommodations and home visits.

And elderly people who are stuck in the last leg of the Monopology game with no more opportunities to be hired.

And people who are living on public assistance for other reasons.

The US employment-population ratio is 58.6 percent. That is your future congregation.
This is a good time to learn from the experience. See what it feels like for your future followers to struggle with the realities of life.

They will be paying your salary with their 41.4% underemployment. They will be listening to your sermons on faith. They will hear you ask for respect and submission, while inside you want to say, "Im going to delete my profile. Your advice is inapporopraite, wrong, and out of conext."

Being unemployed is a frightening time. Use the experience well.

 

[Another Lazarus]

Dear mjcecomc,

I understand this is a rough situation, worrying indeed.

What if God tempt you to be a homeless poor man like Lazarus ? will you still be faithful to God ?

Jesus bless you.

read this link and hope you'll understand why.
Elvi Zapata

 

[tturt]

mjcecomc praying for you and your family to Yahweh for His wisdom, guidance, provision.

 

[mjcecomc]

you will be glad to know i was offered a job today, just in time basically. I did have certainty about what i was doing but stepping out in faith does cause anxiety and stress for me at times. Im growing in my faith all the time and would have valued some more encouraging comments from this site. The first 2 comments on this thread were very dismissive and not encouraging at all. Another valuable lesson ive learnt from this post is that i won't seek advice from this site again. The only post i found relevant and helpful was from aiki, so thanks for that