Silas
Beloved of All
Your words show how heavy and exhausting these four years have been, and how much you have carried trying to keep going. Applying to hundreds of jobs, taking work for half the pay you once had, being laid off, trying commission work that cost you more than it gave, and now teaching multiple classes a day while your body is in pain with tendonitis, back pain and stomach trouble from stress. Feeling worn out and wondering if you are too old for this to change is an understandable place to be, and God sees both the financial pressure and the physical toll.
Scripture gives a picture that may encourage you here. In the law, God gave instructions for what to do when a leper was cleansed, even though leprosy was considered incurable. In that way He left room for Himself to work. He did not box Himself in. He made a provision for cleansing in case He chose to heal. That principle still helps us. We can be tempted to put God in a box and decide there is no way forward because we have seen so many closed doors, but God has not limited Himself. He still has room to work in ways we cannot predict, and He can open a door for stable, salaried work even after a long season of disappointment.
The Bible is also honest about financial hardship. The early believers in Jerusalem went through severe poverty and trial, and the apostle Paul wrote to other churches about sharing with them. Paul himself knew what it was to work with his own hands to provide for his needs so he would not be a burden, and Jesus Himself lived without material wealth, born in another man's stable and at one point borrowing a coin to teach. God is not distant from money worries or from the dignity of wanting honest, steady work. He understands the weight of needing provision day after day.
At the same time, Jesus said His yoke is easy and His burden is light, and that He delights to do the will of the Father. When we are trying to carry everything in our own strength, or striving in work that drains us without rest, burnout comes quickly. Your body hurting after three classes a day is a real signal that you need care and rest. Bringing your exhaustion to Jesus does not mean you stop being diligent, but it does mean you do not have to carry the anxiety alone. He invites you to walk with Him, to do the next faithful step, and to let Him carry the weight of the outcome.
Above all, the greatest provision God has made is for our deepest need. There is only one provision for forgiveness and peace with God, and that is through Jesus Christ who said He is the way, the truth and the life, and that no one comes to the Father except through Him. In the wilderness God told Moses to lift up a bronze serpent so that anyone who simply looked in faith would live, with no other explanation except that God promised it. In the same way, we are invited to look to Jesus in faith and be forgiven and made new. When that relationship is settled, we can then trust the same God who provided for our souls to also care for our daily needs, as He once provided that hungry travelers could eat from the fields around them.
I am praying for you, that God would provide a stable, full time, salaried position that fits your skills and allows your body to heal, that He would give you wisdom as you apply and interview, and that He would bring relief for the pain in your tendons and back and the stress in your stomach. I pray He would give you rest, renew your strength, and remind you daily that He has not forgotten you and still has room to work on your behalf. May you look to Jesus for both forgiveness and daily help, and find His yoke to be gentle as you trust Him one day at a time.
Scripture gives a picture that may encourage you here. In the law, God gave instructions for what to do when a leper was cleansed, even though leprosy was considered incurable. In that way He left room for Himself to work. He did not box Himself in. He made a provision for cleansing in case He chose to heal. That principle still helps us. We can be tempted to put God in a box and decide there is no way forward because we have seen so many closed doors, but God has not limited Himself. He still has room to work in ways we cannot predict, and He can open a door for stable, salaried work even after a long season of disappointment.
The Bible is also honest about financial hardship. The early believers in Jerusalem went through severe poverty and trial, and the apostle Paul wrote to other churches about sharing with them. Paul himself knew what it was to work with his own hands to provide for his needs so he would not be a burden, and Jesus Himself lived without material wealth, born in another man's stable and at one point borrowing a coin to teach. God is not distant from money worries or from the dignity of wanting honest, steady work. He understands the weight of needing provision day after day.
At the same time, Jesus said His yoke is easy and His burden is light, and that He delights to do the will of the Father. When we are trying to carry everything in our own strength, or striving in work that drains us without rest, burnout comes quickly. Your body hurting after three classes a day is a real signal that you need care and rest. Bringing your exhaustion to Jesus does not mean you stop being diligent, but it does mean you do not have to carry the anxiety alone. He invites you to walk with Him, to do the next faithful step, and to let Him carry the weight of the outcome.
Above all, the greatest provision God has made is for our deepest need. There is only one provision for forgiveness and peace with God, and that is through Jesus Christ who said He is the way, the truth and the life, and that no one comes to the Father except through Him. In the wilderness God told Moses to lift up a bronze serpent so that anyone who simply looked in faith would live, with no other explanation except that God promised it. In the same way, we are invited to look to Jesus in faith and be forgiven and made new. When that relationship is settled, we can then trust the same God who provided for our souls to also care for our daily needs, as He once provided that hungry travelers could eat from the fields around them.
I am praying for you, that God would provide a stable, full time, salaried position that fits your skills and allows your body to heal, that He would give you wisdom as you apply and interview, and that He would bring relief for the pain in your tendons and back and the stress in your stomach. I pray He would give you rest, renew your strength, and remind you daily that He has not forgotten you and still has room to work on your behalf. May you look to Jesus for both forgiveness and daily help, and find His yoke to be gentle as you trust Him one day at a time.
