"Blueprints for the Black Market"

It’s tough work beginning your own business. Ask me, I know. But the rewards – though they seem distant at the foundation – are tremendous.

Unemployment is no picnic either. Other than having a part-time janitorial position for about 5 months, I’ve been unemployed for 22 months. Usually I don’t put my business out there like that, but for the sake of this post I will. Most people don’t understand the situation I am in trying to look for work, searching for clients, and trying to pay the bills month after month. The unsolicited “advice” that I have received has been a discouragement more than what it should be – encouragement and support. And no, I’m not looking for a handout.

God wants His people to prosper. Immediately, people think of money when they see that word, but prospering is so much more than money. Prospering is to become strong and flourishing – monetarily, emotionally and physically. It’s really not worth it to thrive economically if your unhappy, depressed and you hate your job. Where’s the joy in that?

The thing is I know what I’ve been called to do. People don’t understand that. Think of the parable Jesus told about the three men that were given talents – five, two and one, respectively. The men with five and two invested their talents and doubled what they had been given, while the man with one buried his away for “safe keeping,” only to find that he did wrong and the one he had been given was taken away. Let’s put that in modern terms and use my situation to bring it to better light. God has given me a number of talents – administration, graphic design and desktop publishing, and writing. If I was to take what God has given me and not utilize those talents, I’d be in the same position as the man with one talent. Who’s to say that I wouldn’t lose my creative nature, my gift of writing or my skills of administration? If I don’t use them – according to the parable – wouldn’t they be taken from me and given to someone else? So why then would I put my destiny in jeopardy just so I could flip burgers and make five bucks an hour? It’s a better life to do what you’ve called to and trust God with the finances anyways.

Where there is a God-given vision, there is always provision. God’s plan for me is not to wait tables. It’s for me to wait on Him. And there’s no better place to be.