Though the government is saying we are coming out of recession, many people are still losing their jobs and some estimates say that unemployment will rise to three million by the end of this year. Are there any biblical pointers as to how to face redundancy?
There is no Bible passage of which I am aware which specifically addresses unemployment in the modern sense. But, on the other hand, Scripture has much to say about coping with trouble generally, of which being made redundant is just one specific example.
In Psalm 13 we find David in deep trouble, asking, ‘How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?’ (v.1a). It is not clear precisely what trouble David faced. So we take it that the psalm is meant to speak about facing trouble generally and we can apply it to our topic. In the psalm, David climbs out of the depths of despair (vv.1,2) to a position of confidence and hope (vv.5,6). The text breaks into three pairs of verses.
The re-emergence of heavy shepherds
What would you think if you received a letter from your church leaders that read like this? ‘Are church members …