God Unemployed? - Martin Wiles

O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, if you will look upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back to you. 1 Samuel 1:11 NLT

Lay off. The words sent shudders throughout my body.

I was a single young man working for a local textile mill when imports threatened their existence. Many had already closed. Layoffs came regularly. Every week, I listened to the rumors—and waited for the pink slip.

One week, my fears were realized. How would I pay my bills? Where would I find work? What was the possibility of my being called back? Fortunately, a fellow church member worked at the local unemployment office. She gave me guidance, and within one week, my unemployment checks had started. But they weren’t nearly as much as my paycheck.

The reality hit hard. I now lounged among the unemployed. I had no boss, except the government, who said I had to actively seek employment to keep drawing my unemployment benefits. Fortunately, my employer called me back within a few weeks. I breathed a sigh of relief. I needed his funds to meet my monthly obligations.

Hannah needed an employer too. God. Her rival, Peninah, gave her husband children, but Hannah couldn’t bear any. She did the only wise thing she knew to do: approached the God she believed could act on her behalf and could give her the thing she wanted so passionately.

Some feel as if technology and science have eliminated the need for God—unemployed Him. People in biblical times attributed miraculous events to a supernatural God because for them this was the only logical explanation. But when scientific thought developed and was applied to various areas, it explained what was once attributed to God. God died—or became unemployed. People didn’t need him anymore.

Or so we thought. Some still do. Not me. I love science and technology. But I’m not so naïve as to believe God isn’t still involved in these developments. Who, after all, gives scientists the wisdom to discover, to develop, and then to apply their findings to various areas, which in turn make our lives more enjoyable? And, by the way, to help us as believers more rapidly grow God’s Kingdom?

Don’t ever lay God off in your life. He wants to be employed in every detail. He loves you and wants you to love Him in return. Without Him, we are only left with fate or chance—neither of which are good options.  

Tweetable: Do you feel as if God has left the job? 

Prayer: Father, we want You to always be employed in our lives.

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