Have you ever had that thought? I sure have. Sometimes in an irreverent way (He’s ok with that, btw), and quite often in a curious way. For example, I truly wonder what He’s up to? 🙂
But I remember being unemployed, and also through bouts of being unfulfilled, when I wondered…no, I was truly confounded and confused, as to what God was up to. Life didn’t make sense to me. I mean, I was doing my best to follow Christ and be obedient to His teachings. I was faithful in earnestly pursuing what His purpose was for me in life. I was focused on being in tune with the Holy Spirit’s leading and guiding.
BUT, life still didn’t make sense to me as I encountered being unfulfilled and unemployed:
- Why was I super stressed out, so much so, that I suffered from TMJ and broke out with hives on my arms?
- Why did I have a boss where I couldn’t seem to do anything right, no matter how hard I tried?
- Why did my career progression occur at a firm that imploded a few years after I had reached the top of the ladder?
- Why didn’t my phone ring off the hook with people wanting to hire me after all I had accomplished?
- Why was my position eliminated when senior management had all complimented the work I had done?
Have you encountered questions like those? They are not easily settled questions.
A Biblical Framework for Navigating Career Crossroads
I recently finished a YouVersion Bible reading plan called: “Connecting The Dots: What God Is Doing When Life Doesn’t Make Sense” by Joel Malm. I found it to be very helpful, so I wanted to introduce you to some of his thoughts and also apply them to being at a crossroads in your career.
He created a model he entitles, “The Journey,” that is outlined below.
1. The Turning Point
This is where the journey begins. Sometimes it can be a positive inflection point in your life, but oftentimes, this point is a life crisis that quickly develops. Picture the character of Frodo, from “Lord of the Rings,” who is living a quiet, uneventful life in the Shire, when he is suddenly saddled with the mission of destroying “the ring.” Now, perhaps your career journey feels like you’re carrying that heavy weight as well, but the main point here is that you are now in a new season of life you need to figure out. And based on my personal experience and conversations with thousands of people, career crossroads are not the seasons that most people look forward to. Most people are not excited about trying to figure out what to do with their life after suddenly being laid off. Ecclesiastes 3:1-11 gives us some perspectives about the different seasons in life, with the assurance that they inevitably will happen.
2. The Courage
Once the turning point occurs, you’re faced with that question of “How” will you respond? Will you have courage or fear? I believe it’s possible, maybe even probable (?), to have both. Courage is simply facing our fears and moving forward to resolve them. Malm points out three areas are most common for fear:
- Security – “physical, emotional, or financial.” Career crossings can take its toll in all three areas.
- Connection – “feeling seen, heard, understood, and valued in relationships.” If you’ve been let go from an organization, all of those listed can be damaged. Unfulfillment can easily do the same.
- Empowerment – “feeling a sense of control and freedom in your life.” Oops, strike 3! Another swing and a miss with a crossing in one’s career!
Malm goes on to state, “We were made to need all those things. There’s nothing wrong with you for wanting them. But we were made to find all those things in God’s love. Only God’s love can offer the perfect security, connection, and empowerment we want and need.” 1 John 4:18 says, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear.” Romans 8:38-39 is another passage with great reassurances for God’s far-reaching and Fatherly love. So, while we may not become fearless, we can certainly fear less when our trust is in God for the outcomes in our careers.
3. The Guide
I used to tell my direct reports, “Never go down alone.” Help, support, and additional expertise is available to you when you don’t know the answer to something. Once again using Frodo as an illustration, he didn’t go on his mission alone. He had Gandalf as his guide (if you’re in need of guidance, click here to connect with one of our Crossroads Guides for a free 45 minute consultation), and he had a fellowship of men to help him on the journey (click here for more on networking).
As a Christ follower, the Holy Spirit is our ever-present Guide, and He is infallible. He communicates to us through the Scriptures, people, His quiet whisper (1 Kings 19:12), and circumstances. Malm concludes, “How does all that work exactly? I wish I could explain it, but that’s way above my theological pay grade.” I agree and have lived out that challenge when going through a career crossing. Doors and windows opening and shutting, paths meandering or running into dead ends, along with sometimes the sheer quietness of waiting. Aargh! Not for the faint of heart! (See #2 above). 🙂
4. The Decision
CS Lewis said, “We are not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us; we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be.” Bingo! That was sure true with me. Through my transitions, there were also huge doses of ambiguity mixed in with pain, but the end result was “best.” Malm states, “The only way to move forward is to fully engage and be present with the journey ahead. You’ll have to stop researching and analyzing and just live it out. Surrender the outcome and go all in.” Even Jesus has an opinion on this as is shared in Luke 9:62, “But Jesus told him, ‘Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.’” Now, I know Jesus is talking about discipleship, but I think the same principle applies. Once you make a decision, go all in! It is a full-time job to land a full-time job, so let’s look forward and go get ’em!
5. The Adventure
We can see ourselves in one of two ways. Either as a victim or an accountable adventurer. Either things happen to us, or we make things happen as we forge ahead. Malm points out, “When you choose to see yourself as a willing participant in an adventure – rather than a victim – your brain chemistry actually begins to shift. Your mind goes into exploration-and-learning mode rather than fear. Seeing the challenges as an adventure is a small perspective shift that can change everything.” A quote by GK Chesterton sums this up nicely, “An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered.”
God Is Working Even When You Can’t See the Whole Picture
God wastes nothing. Every turning point in our lives can be used by Him for His purposes, even when we can’t seem to make sense of it. The book of Job is probably the best Biblical illustration for this truth.
In Job 1:8 we’re told, “Then the Lord asked Satan, ‘Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth. He is blameless – a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil.’” God allowed Satan to test Job, and Job held up to the test, although he acknowledges in Job 42:3 “You (God) asked, ‘Who is this that questions My wisdom with such ignorance?’ It is I (Job) – and I was talking about things I knew nothing about, things far too wonderful for me.”
While our outcomes may not turn out like Job, both the downside and upside, we can rest assured that God’s promises still apply to us today. And similar to Job, His sovereign purposes are “far too wonderful for me.”
Connect the dots using Malm’s model, and see what adventurous journey God has in store for you through your career transition. Blessings!
Dave Sparkman currently serves as the volunteer Crossroads Career board chair and local ministry leader. He is also the founder and managing director of Spark Your Culture, a corporate culture consulting firm. Prior to that he worked at UnitedHealth Group, a Fortune #5 public company, serving in the role of Chief Culture Officer. His unemployment experience came from the implosion of Arthur Andersen, where he served as the West Region Managing Partner, People.
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