God does bless those who are in the process of discipline, He provided a nice severance package, and two months of paid Cobra. Over the past few weeks, I found out that my oldest son has epilepsy, which has also made getting a job more important. But now the question is where does God want me to work? What does he want me to do? Well the answer to this first question was actually pretty easy.
1) What should my occupation, or the purpose of my work be? I found the answer in Matthew 28:18-20 "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you . And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Of course this is simple to say, but hard to actually do, where ever God wants me to work, my purpose will be to reach out to those outside the Body and present my life as a living gospel.
2) What type of benefits package should I be seeking to cover my family? This is a really hard one, at Dell this was a security blanket I trusted but in Luke 12:22 Jesus says this to his disciples: " Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothes. Consider the ravens; They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like on of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink, do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well." This is really hard, put powerful. God wants me to lay down every bit of security on His Alter, burn the Idols and trust that He will provide for me better than Dell provided for me. I know this is crazy talk in the world of "You must have health insurance" world we live today. The real question is can I live by faith that God will provide the things I need the most? Matthew writes the same quote in his gospel account Matthew 6:25-34, but in Matthew 6:33-34 he writes "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." My focus is now returning back to that Kingdom view. My job has to be kingdom focused. My occupation MUST be kingdom focused. My benefit package must be placed into the hands of God.
3) What should I do? Currently I'm unemployed. I can't stand here idle, I must work, actually work is what God created me to do. So what is my work? I'm really good at understanding technical things, I'm able to break up a project into simple tasks, I can write programs, I can learn stuff quickly, I can communicate technical things, and train people by making complex things simple. Currently I'm working on projects at my church (http://www.crosspointeaustin.org/) building technical processes. I know these are all marketable skills, I could easily get a nice cushy job in a big company. Other skills, which are just as important include teaching The Bible in a simple and practical ways, being a servant, taking on things which has no immediate gain because I envision something great. These are not very marketable in the pagan worldview.
Which is currently vexing me. The above list is what I do, It's was a gift I was given, How does this fit into the purpose, the occupation of building the Kingdom?
About an hour ago I woke up from a sound sleep with an idea, something tugging at my heart. I must find a company where I can do my work, the gifts which God has blessed me, along with building the kingdom. I want to make a global impact for the kingdom.
John 4:33-34 in this passage the disciples have just rejoined Jesus after he met with the Samaritan woman at the well. Of course the disciples being guys have that simple human response "Have you eaten yet?" The reply of Jesus is so simple: "My food" said Jesus "is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. Do you not say, 'Four months more and then the harvest'? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. Even now the reaper draws his waves, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. Thus the saying 'One sows and another reaps' is true. I send you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor."
The job is simple, yet so profound. I need to be a reaper, I need to work in a company where I'm not a robot, and I have relationships with people on the other side of the globe. I need to work for a company who has no qualms about spreading the gospel, actually a company who's mission is spreading the gospel. A company who's work is allowing it to grow into the ends of the earth so it can hire people and present them with the gospel.
Back to the question of my occupation, what do I want to do with my life? The answer is simple, to do His will!
Please keep us in your prayers,
A bond Servant in Christ
Stephen Frick
