Single with a Mortgage

QUESTION

Dear Dr. Celeste,

I have good government job but I absolutely hate it! I appreciate the steady check, the opportunity to learn new things, and meet some interesting people but my particular position has no real structure or purpose and my particular office is quite inefficient and very resistant to any suggestions that may help us be more effective in my opinion. 

Just thinking about the job produces anxiety. After starting this job, I started having physical health symptoms that my doctor diagnosed as stress-related. 

I've been applying for other government jobs for about a year but have not gotten any interviews or offers.  I even tried to go back to the last position I was in but they never even called back. 

I'm beginning to think God is telling me to quit relying on secure government jobs and follow my passions: writing, public speaking, spiritual direction, jewelry making, and entrepreneurship in general.  But right now I have debt and bills.  And the things I want to pursue take even more money than I already make or have.  

I began the ambitious goal of paying off my revolving debt this year by first assessing how much I actually have and it's nothing out of control but still more than I have right now in my accounts.  I am also reassessing my jewelry business and developing strategies to make it more effective. 

In sum, I am stuck and don’t know if I should just take a leap of faith.

RESPONSE

Dear Single with a Mortgage,

First things first, the word says in 2 Thessalonians 3:10b, "If a man will not work, he shall not eat." Unless you have clearly heard the voice of God—and not simply the voice of your frustration—DO NOT leave your "good government job". (Other reference: Proverbs 3:6)

There’s something to be said about seeing a process all the way through to the end. God will often use our most frustrating circumstances to develop His character in us. Some years back I was in a similar situation. I had grown tired of my job and wanted out desperately, but God wouldn’t move me. Like you I applied to others jobs to never receive a call back. Finally I prayed to God for the right attitude while I waited. With His help I stayed put without the frustration and before I knew it He opened a door for me to start my own private practice.

We forget that God is not in a rush. His word says “that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day”(2 Peter 3:8). So like I said…not in a rush.

Fortunately, there are a several things that you can do while you wait for God to move you:

1.    Pay down your debt: any business owner knows that one dramatically increases the odds of succeeding when one’s personal debt is null or at a minimum.

2.    Have an exit plan: Developing a solid business plan for the jewelry business might be a great place to start.

3.    Learn what you need to learn now: Running is not the answer. What God wants to teach you will be learned where you are or at your next location. Some repeat the same cycle for many years attempting to avoid a valuable lesson or development of character. Case in point, the children of Israel wandered in the desert wilderness for 40 years. Did I mention that God is not in a rush?

4.    Look for opportunities to minister right where you are: We often forget that ministry can occur right in our places of employment. There may be a person that God needs for you to touch before you leave.

It takes faith to stay in a situation that you feel is zapping the life out of you but if God has called you to this experience He will lead you out in His timing. The word says, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4). God never promised a life of but we can trust that He will bring us out.

Lastly, when God is ready to move you He will and you won’t have any doubt that it was Him.

If you have a question you would like for me to answer please forward to info@drcelesteowens.com.

Praying God’s good success in every area of your life,
Dr. Celeste