It was the beginning of October. We had spent most of the year paying down huge financial obligations, such as the house, and were excited the year was almost over. All was well until my company announced that there was going to be some job eliminations. I felt bad for those that were about to lose their jobs and didn’t give it a second thought since I was excellent at what I did – or so I thought.  I was on my computer one day and received a meeting invite from the departmental head. I felt a knot in my stomach. The same knot I felt when I was refused a visa many years ago. The same knot I felt when I lost everything in an international trip. I walked into the bosses elegant office and there was told that my job had been eliminated. I had 2 children at home, a wife, and numerous financial obligations – and here I was jobless.

The Transition

I was downcast, depressed, frustrated, scared – you name it. It took me a few days to muster enough courage to tell my wife what had happened. She in turn told me she was pregnant. Think of that. We were expecting a new baby, and I had just been laid off. How will we pay the medical bills? How are we even sure we will not be out sleeping on the streets soon? Oh, this is the worst season of our lives, or was it? No. As soon as I heard she was pregnant, my depression left. I felt joy. I knew God will never give us this child if He wasn’t going to provide. I finally asked that immortal question: What is God doing now? And God answered deep in my spirit. I could see now that He was enlarging our coast. That he was helping me quit a job I was so scarred of quitting but should have. He was telling me that an era was coming to an end, with a new one dawning. I smiled lovingly at my wife as the revelation hit. We named the child “Akuchi”, meaning “God’s wealth”.

Now It’s On You

Within a few weeks, I was offered new employment that was less stressful and paid way more. I got the job title that I had dreamed of having for years. My old company provided a generous severance package which enabled us expand and take the long trip we had always wanted. I say this testimony to encourage someone today. Maybe that’s you. Are you going through really hard times? Could it be that God is trying to make a decision for you that you are too afraid to make yourself? Could He be moving you from one era to another? Have you asked, “What is God doing now?”. Believe it or not, God is working. Through the shame, the tears and the heartache, He is doing something new. You are being downsized so you can be uplifted. You are taking a step backwards so you can lunge 2 steps forward. Now it is on you to ask and find out, what God is doing now?

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is , and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him – Hebrew 11:6