Biblical Counseling for Women: Just Give Me A Job!

Today's guest blogger is Karen Pickering. Karen is a Biblical Counselor and founder of The Lytroo Retreat. Lytroo Retreat was created to minister to women who have been sexually abused. It is an opportunity to shift your focus from your painful past to a hope filled future. This post originally appeared on her blog and is used with permission. You can read more about Karen and Lytroo Retreat here.

I have a five year old granddaughter who loves to have jobs. As I work around the house Arianna often asks, “Can I have a job?” Picking up her toys or straightening her room are not on her list of things she wants to do. I can often get her to do the less desirable jobs with a promise of something more interesting when she is done.

This weekend my husband and I catered a wedding for some close friends. The week was spent in preparations. Arianna, who was watching the activity, repeatedly said, “Can I have a job?” She knew something big and exciting was going on and wanted to be part of it.

Earlier in the week I was cleaning at church. “Just give me a job”, Arianna begged. One of my fellow workers found a job for her. She came running to me with gloves in hand to tell me, “Patsy gave me a job pulling weeds!” As soon as I acknowledged her she ran out with a spring in her step to do the precious job she had been given.

The day of the wedding came. Megan, who is eleven, was soon saying, “What can I do?” We had hired her to watch Arianna, but since that didn’t take her full attention she wanted a job. We gave her jobs: fetching things from the car, stacking the soda in the ice tubs, arranging the bags of chips in the basket. The list grew and grew. These weren’t exciting jobs, but she could feel the excitement of the event and delighted to be part of it.

Both Arianna and Megan are learning the joy of serving. It will be a lesson they will continue to learn their whole lives. Some of the jobs they will be faced with will be boring, like cleaning their rooms. Some of their jobs will be hard, like doing Algebra homework, or being kind to the class bully.

Jesus tells us a parable in Matthew 25:14-30. The Master is going on a journey and leaves his possessions with his three servants. The first two were faithful in the use of their talents; the third, not so much. The master’s response to the first two was, “Well done, good and faithful slave; you were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things, enter into the joy of your master.” (vv. 21 & 23 NASB) The third couldn’t be bothered. He hid the talents in the ground and pursued his own interests. You can read the lengthy response of the Master in verses 26-30.

Amazingly God gives us jobs. Not because he needs us, but so we can work side by side with him. Some of the jobs are boring, small or hard. Many jobs, if not all, are impossible without his strength. As we accomplish the small things he gives us more responsibility. How am I doing the small jobs? How am I doing the hard jobs? That will determine what jobs he gives us in the future and what he will find for us to do when we get to heaven.

“Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and his bride has made herself ready.” (Revelation 19:7 NASB)