Written by: Standeline Thomas

Imagine your spouse, the major bread winner, coming home unexpectedly early and telling you they lost their job. Now imagine them not getting an equivalent job (or anything close to it) for 2 years. That’s my story.

Let's start from the beginning. In 2010, we were living the cushy life. We had just bought our house the year before, had our first child, and had savings in the bank. The sudden loss of income was a shock.

According to my husband I took the news much better than he thought I would. I saw no purpose in freaking out. He was an engineer and had great work history. Plus, we had a lot of travel plans coming up, so this was a blessing in disguise because we wouldn’t have to ask for any time off from his job. “He should get a job in a couple of months,” or so I thought.

One of those travel plans was to a church conference in Houston. We made our way there not sure what to expect, but expecting to receive something. Sitting in the giving moment, I felt we had to give all that was in our account, but I wasn’t sure how my husband would handle it. I asked him what he wanted to give, and it wasn’t everything. When I told him that God was telling me to give it all, with no hesitation he said, “Let’s do it.” That’s when I freaked out! We had never given so much money at once! I had been secretly hoping he would fight me on it so I could cop out.

That night we threw it all in. We didn’t discuss it with anyone. We were in agreement and that’s all that mattered. The next morning we checked our bank account and we received an additional check from the lost job for more than what we had given the night before! We got back home and received another check in the mail! For a whole year we were receiving unexpected money from various people.

Even with that it still wasn’t enough to sustain the life that we had. We were falling behind on bills and racked up a massive amount of credit card debt trying to stay afloat. We fell behind on the house payment by exactly 18 months and came very close to foreclosure.

My husband eventually got another job, but he was only making half of what he used to make and driving an hour to get there. He was only working there for 9 months when God spoke to him in prayer to quit. We didn’t know why until a couple of months later. A program that we had applied for and been rejected had changed their policies. If he had not listened to God when it came time to quit then we would not have qualified. This program paid for $25,000 of our back mortgage payments, over 95% of the total cost. This was $7000 above what they were originally going to give us. Even during our “season of lack” God provided. We went on 3 cruises, had 2 additional children, got a brand new car off the showroom floor, and never missed church (even though we lived an hour away lol). We came out of the situation not missing a beat.

I know what you’re thinking: “this sounds great and all, but what does this have to do with my situation?” We may not have the same exact situations but we all go through the same emotions, moments of doubt, loneliness, regret, feelings of confusion and abandonment. All of these come into play when you go through a battle like this. But you’re not alone! Here are 4 strategies I used to endure.

1. Take authority over your mouth

What you say in your low times can change your attitude. That’s when you need to speak and say, “This is only temporary and my situation can change in a split second because God is able.” My go-to phrase was, “Devil you’re not going to take my house. You didn’t give it to me so you have no right to take it.” That short script would remove that weight of devastation of my shoulders. You can find a confession here.

2. Build the right relationships

While everyone may have good intentions not everyone needs to speak into your life, even Christians. I made it a point to remove or limit my conversations with negative people. That went for even the parentals. Instead I would speak to my spouse, pastors, and most importantly God. I strengthened my relationship with Him because if anyone had answers He did. In my prayer times I would ask for strength, wisdom, witty ideas and to hear Him clearly above all my thoughts.

3. Let go of pride

It’s easy to feel as though you should have it all together. But the truth is you don’t… none of us do. That’s why we need Jesus! There is nothing new under the sun, so that means someone has gone through what you have. Pray for God to reveal the people you need to talk to about your situation. Pride comes before destruction, don’t let that be you.

4. Be thankful for even the smallest things

Faith is little by little. You don’t have to wait for the big reveal to be thankful. I am thankful for never losing electricity, always having gas when needed, my children not lacking in any area, etc. Celebrate all that God has given you because there is more coming.

You are well equipped for the battle you're fighting. Trust God and you will not lose a step.