Job search is hard. When we reach a crisis point in our lives, the unholy trinity combines forces to make the battle even tougher. Job search isn’t just about finding a job; it’s part of a cosmic battle for our hearts. Along with divorce, job search is one of the toughest attacks on your ego that you will ever face. To be sure, there are things in life that are tougher, such as the death of a loved one, a life-threatening illness or injury, and maybe a prison sentence.

I’m constantly reminded of the fact that, in search, we are called upon to be at our professional best right after someone told us we weren’t worth having around anymore. That’s enough to get you down right there! But there may be other, more negative forces working on you than meets the eye.

John Eldredge writes in Wild at Heart, “Whatever specific terrain you are called to – at home, at work … you will always encounter three enemies: the world, the flesh, and the devil. They make up sort of an unholy trinity.” Job search is one of the toughest spiritual battles you will every face. Here’s a glimpse into what’s going on:

1. The world attacks our hearts.

The world rejects us. Your former employer said, “Get lost.” Your target company said, “We don’t want you.” Your networking contact said, “I’m too busy.” All this rejection can wear us down.

The world tells us to change our attitude. “Friend, you’ve got to change your attitude. You’ve got to pull yourself up by the bootstraps.” Sometimes I think those of us with good intentions and good attitudes lay a guilt trip on those who don’t share our positive outlook on life. The person with the bad attitude often thinks, “What’s wrong with me that I can’t snap my fingers and suddenly be in a good mood?” To the encouragers of the world, including myself, I encourage you to help people pull themselves up when they are unable to do it themselves.

2. The flesh attacks our hearts.

The flesh betrays us. Did you notice on the previous point that part of it was about the world sending the seeker a message, but the response came from within the mind of the seeker? Our self-talk is one of the most destructive forces to our psyche. Everyone has negative thoughts; we handle those thoughts differently. One affirmation I use is: “I think positive. I deliberately voice a positive thought to cancel out any negative thought that comes to mind concerning my personal powers. I have formed the habit of positive thinking.”

Pride is another destructive force. I’ve seen a lot of people derail their job search because of pride. Friends, humble yourselves and ask for help. Ask friends for help. Listen to their counsel. Ask for professional help; it may pay dividends far beyond your job search. Ask God for help; he is standing at your door and knocking.

And speaking of the flesh, poor health – whether it’s a disease, illness or injury – can play a big role in a job search. Do everything you can to maintain good health, and if that isn’t enough – if your health is still a factor – use your advisory team to develop a realistic, achievable goal for your career.

3. The devil attacks our hearts.

The devil deceives us. Sometimes that self-doubt isn’t just from you. Jesus called the devil “the father of lies.” He was speaking to the Pharisees when he said, “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44)

The father of lies may be speaking to you. Satan may be placing negative thoughts in your head and fear in your heart. He just loves it when we are at a crisis point in our lives because we are so vulnerable. “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)

Eldredge writes in Captivating, “All the Enemy has to do to destroy people is to get them isolated, [like] a lamb separated from the flock.” Satan wants to separate you from your employer, your target companies, your network, your advisory team, your family – and, most of all – your spouse. Don’t let the enemy win! Fight back with the power of the Holy Trinity.

– – – – – – –

I used to work in an office that was right beside some railroad tracks. Every now and then I’d see a 100-car train loaded with coal start from a complete standstill. It took four engines working at maximum power to get it rolling. At first it moved very slowly, but before it was out of sight, it would be moving at 45 miles per hour.

Which way is your train headed?

Maybe those four engines – your negative attitude, combined with the world, the flesh and the devil – have you headed south. They’re building momentum, and you’re headed in the wrong direction. Stop the engines. Change your course. Pray for a willing spirit. Derail the forces of evil working against you. Hook up the powerful engines of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Get your train rolling toward True North.

See you Friday at JobSeekers, where we claim the power of the Holy Trinity.

Copyright © 2006-2019 / Dave O’Farrell / All Rights Reserved

Patrick Henry

As we celebrate the 243rd anniversary of our Declaration of Independence this week, let’s also celebrate our declaration of dependence of God. As bad as some people say things are, or as bad as they may seem, this is still the best nation on earth to live in. For this we can thank the founders of this nation; they were not only brave patriots, they were devout Christians as well. Their source of strength was the Lord God Almighty. He is the rock this nation is built upon.

Yes, our forefathers declared independence from Britain; they also declared their dependence on God, not on a king or queen or anything else that is of this earth:

1. Thomas Paine. Paine published a booklet in January 1776 called Common Sense. The booklet inspired the colonists to work toward the formation of a new independent government. In one section Paine outlined the origin and development of monarchies using the Bible as his textbook. He made this comment in his essay: “Government by kings was first introduced into the world by the Heathens, from whom the children of Israel copied the custom. It was the most prosperous invention the Devil ever set on foot for the promotion of idolatry.” Paine did not want his country to be connected with the work of Satan. There was a biblical basis for his plea for independence.

Thomas Paine

2. Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson said, “God, who gave us life, gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the gift of God? And that they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever.”

3. Patrick Henry. Henry is best known for saying, “Give me liberty or give me death,” also said: “It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists but by Christians; not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

As Americans, we thank God for the independence we enjoy today. We thank the brave men and women in our armed forces around the world – today and yesterday – for preserving the freedom that we often take for granted. God bless them all – living and dead – for putting their lives on the line so we can worship our Father in heaven.

Our Declaration of Dependence

As JobSeekers, it’s time for us to declare our independence from the things of this world and to declare our dependence on God Almighty. It’s time to stopping complaining about how big our storm is, and to start telling the storm how big our God is.

Common Sense

We are dependent on God. When we acknowledge this, he provides for our every need. When we forget, he humbles us just as he did the Hebrews in the wilderness: “He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.” – Deuteronomy 8:3

See you on Friday 10 July at JobSeekers, where we declare our dependence on God.

Copyright © 2005-2019 / Dave O’Farrell / All Rights Reserved

– – – – –

Some of the content from this article is from “Faith of Our Fathers” by B. Jane Kulp, and found here »

How much does your job search
cost you each day?

Our topic a few weeks ago was “How to Make $15K Real Fast.” Some people who couldn’t make it wrote and asked me how to make $15K real fast. I’m shocked and surprised that all of you who couldn’t make it didn’t write to me! Some of you don’t have a bias for action.

The answer is: look for a job during the summer. Look for a job every day, all day during the summer. I arrived at this figure by using the figures you have reported to us when you came to your first meeting. The average member of JobSeekers of PTC earns about $180 per day, 365 days a year. Multiply that amount by the 73 days of summer in the Fayette County school system and you have $13,140.

If you had to write a $15K check in order to take the summer off, would you do it?

If you haven’t been working on your job search this week because you want to relax during your kids’ first month of summer, write a check for $5400. Yes, Memorial Day and Independence Day are work days for a job seeker. Father’s Day is a work day for a job seeker. Every day is a work day (an opportunity) for a job seeker.

If you’ve taken the summer off so far, you are not showing a bias for action.

– – – – –

“If you could attempt anything in your job search today and you knew beforehand you were going to be successful at it, what would you do?”

Two or three times a year I ask the audience at JobSeekers this question. Most of the responses have to do with networking and using the phone. “I’d call the company I interviewed with three weeks ago and tell them I want the job.” “I’d call the VP of operations at such-and-such a company and ask for an informational meeting.”

If you knew you were going to be successful – and you actually did it – you’d have a bias for action.

What’s holding you back?

Next I ask what’s holding them back. Fear and pride come up every time. Other responses include not knowing anyone to call, not wanting to interrupt, and not having the necessary skills. “I just don’t know what I’m supposed to say.”

Many times a year (every week?) we emphasize that networking is by far the number one way people find jobs. Most people do it, but they do far too little of it. One time I took a survey at a JobSeeker meeting. The question was, “When was the last time you contacted someone you’d never spoken to before and asked for help with your job search?” The average was 7.21 days. Everyone knows networking is the best way to find a job, but they only talk to one new person per week!

When I think about this critical issue, these two bible verses pop into my head:

1. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

2. Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.

Only six verses separate these two passages. They are both found in the fourth chapter of James. What’s the connection between these passages and someone seeking employment? I believe I am writing to a great many of you who need to hear this message – people who need to act decisively upon this advice.

Humility pays off.

The first passage about being humble is clear. I know from personal experience that it takes a great deal of humility to tell someone you are out of work and need some help. I did better at this in my own search in 2000 than I did in 1992. I know this is hard; I have tons of empathy for you.

One member of the Ship’s Crew saw a gentleman at church almost every week for eight months before the gentlemen mentioned that he was in career transition. Pride and inaction may have cost that job seeker tens of thousands of dollars.

Swallowing your pride and asking for help could shorten your search by months, which would increase your income substantially. For example, if you earn $72K per year and shorten your search by two months, your gross income increases by $12K. You may get back on a corporate medical plan two months sooner and won’t have to pay COBRA fees. So I urge you, brothers and sisters, to humble yourself before the Lord – and before your family, friends and neighbors – and they will lift you up!

We had several people in the past year that had been out of work for almost a year. They humbled themselves, asked us for help, invested in some training, and found great jobs as a result. They had a bias for action and it paid big dividends.

Action pays off.

The second passage about “doing what you know you ought to do” is a verse I’ve struggled with. I’ve asked myself, “Is it a sin to spend 70% of your time on ‘Monster’ and other job boards when you know that the best way to find a job is through networking?” I’ll let you and God work that one out, but I do have an analogy for what I see many of you doing:

Think of a pilot trying to get a plane airborne: the plane has to achieve a certain speed in order to take off. In the worst case, it will crash into whatever is at the end of the runway, possibly killing all aboard.

I’ve met many of you who think you are going fast enough to get airborne. You’re burning lots of fuel and going 90 miles an hour, but you’re not going fast enough to get airborne. It breaks my heart and frustrates the heck out of me to see you plodding down the runway.

In their best selling business book, In Search of Excellence, Peters and Waterman say one of the eight principles of a well-run, focused company is “a bias for action.”

Friends, some of you are not in action! You think you are, but you aren’t. You’re working hard, but not smart. You’re on the internet when you should be on the phone. You’re out in left field when you should be out in the community.

You’re not letting me down; you’re letting yourself and your family down.

Friends, some of you are not in action! You don’t see the consequence of taking the afternoon, or the day, or the week, or the summer off. I mentioned financial consequences, but there are other possible consequences as well, like explaining why your job search is taking so long. Time is money. Behave as if you believe this.

What are you going to do?

By golly, if you know the good you ought to do, by all means, do it! I don’t know if it’s a sin – or evil – or not, but I do know that it is a disservice to you, to your family and to the Kingdom of God. Paul scolded the church members in Thessalonica (2 Thessalonians, chapter 3) for laziness in their work; now I am challenging you and your bias for action.

I am asking you to reflect on what you are doing – on what’s working and what you need to change. I’m sure that all of us – including our alumni, our network, and me – can find some area of our lives that we are not doing the things we know we ought to do. So I am challenging each and every one of you to take one decisive step to ramp up your job search, your career, or your business – to the glory of God.

Are you on board? What are you going to do?

See you Friday at JobSeekers, the place where we have a bias for action!

Copyright © 2004-2019 / Dave O’Farrell / All Rights Reserved

Wynton Marsalis

God’s will is dynamic! We see examples of the divine improvisation all the time if we keep our eyes open to the gentle whisper of the Lord.

In the middle of recent meeting at JobSeekers, someone’s cell phone went off. The incident reminded me of a sermon I once heard; the key illustration was about Wynton Marsalis, arguably the greatest jazz musician of his generation – and one of the finest classical musicians as well. Marsalis has won Grammy awards in both categories.

The story took place on a Tuesday evening in late August 2001 in Greenwich Village at a jazz club called the Village Vanguard. This excerpt is from Faith Today:

Marsalis began an unaccompanied solo of the heartrending 1930′s ballad, “I Don’t Stand a Ghost of a Chance with You.” Hajdu [a journalist covering the performance] records that the audience became rapt as Marsalis’s trumpet virtually wept in despair, almost gasping at times with the pain in the music.

Stretching the mood taut, Marsalis came to the final phrase, with each note coming slower and slower, with longer and longer pauses between each one: “I … don’t … stand … a … ghost … of … a … chance … ”

And then someone’s cell phone went off.

It began to chirp an absurd little tune. The audience broke up into titters, the man with the phone jumped up and fled into the hallway to take his call, and the spell was broken. “MAGIC – RUINED,” the journalist scratched into his notepad.

But then Marsalis played the cell phone melody note for note. He played it again, with different accents. He began to play with it, spinning out a rhapsody on the silly little tune, changing keys several times. The audience settled down, slowly realizing they were hearing something altogether extraordinary. Around and around Marsalis played for several minutes, weaving glory out of goofiness.

Finally, in a masterstroke, he wound his cadenza down seamlessly to the last two notes of his previous song: “… with … you.” The audience exploded with applause.

God was at work in that club. That same versatile, resourceful God is at work in your life and mine.

That same brilliantly adaptable God is at work throughout this sin-sick world, bringing beauty out of baseness, heroism out of holocaust, love out of loss – even salvation out of sacrifice. He calls us to believe, and then do the same.

In the sermon, Chuck Hodges (Senior Pastor at Athens First UMC) said God works for our good every day; His will is dynamic. Keith Moore (Senior Pastor at Dogwood Church) preaches the same thing; God’s dynamic will takes over when sin spoils His plan. In other words, we are subject to the consequences of our will and our decisions – as well as the will and decisions of others – and stuff happens. Like losing a job. Or coming in second on an interview. Or missing a mortgage payment. Or getting a divorce.

Let God do something amazing in your life. This adversity is an opportunity to experience what God can do – an opportunity to experience His grace. Submit to His will and trust him with all your heart. He can take whatever mess you are in right now and weave glory out of goofiness. He will divinely improvise to (re)create a joyful and abundant life for you. If there is never a burden, how will we discover what great things God can do?

Here are two versions of Proverbs 3:5-6:

1) Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. (NKJV)

2) Trust GOD from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track. (The Message)

See you Friday at JobSeekers, the place where we experience God’s divine improvisations!

Copyright © 2004-2018 / Dave O’Farrell / All Rights Reserved

Zig Ziglar
(11/6/26 – 11/28/12)

Zig Ziglar used to say we need “a checkup from the neck up.” One time I spoke to an HR manager who was having a hard time filling a position; the position had been open for more than two months. I immediately recommended a member of JobSeekers; he was imminently qualified for the job. She said they had already interviewed him and decided not to hire him. Why?

She said he had a poor attitude.

Friends, sometimes the number one thing standing between you and a job is your attitude! Maybe you need to do “a check up from the neck up.”

I witnessed this at a job fair one time. As people approached the JobSeekers’ table I was hosting, I’d ask, “What do you do for a living?” They’d look at me and squint one eye and wrinkle their brow and say, “[Well duh], I’m unemployed!” While I was checking for attitude, they were checking to see if I had a brain.

If attitude is your problem, this is good news because it doesn’t take years to earn or learn a new attitude the way a college degree, a certain skill set, or specific industry experience would. Your attitude is a decision you make every day. I learned this bit of wisdom several years ago: “Before your feet hit the floor in the morning, you make a decision about what kind of day you’re going to have.” I challenge you to “decide” to have a good day today, tomorrow and every day during your job search.

In addition to job search, attitude plays a key role in how we deal with poor health, death, divorce, persecution and financial woes.

Here are five examples:

An old lady.

Once there was an old lady who lived in an assisted living facility. As her health deteriorated, it became necessary to move her into a nursing home. She was almost blind. When the day came, her son walked her into the nursing home and down the hall toward her new room. As they approached the door to her room she exclaimed, “Oh I love it! The furniture is so nice and the curtains are beautiful!” Her son said, “Mom, we’re still in the hallway.” She replied, “I know son, but I’ve already decided that I’m going to like it here.”

Viktor Frankl.

Our chaplain, Howard Tisdale (1921-2012), quoted Viktor Frankl (1905-1997) often. Frankl survived the Holocaust, even though he was in four Nazi death camps, including Auschwitz, from 1942-45. His mother, father, brother and wife died in the camps – from the harsh conditions or the gas ovens. His entire family, except for his sister, died. In Man’s Search for Meaning, he wrote about choosing one’s attitude: “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way … Even though conditions such as lack of sleep, insufficient food and various mental stresses may suggest that the inmates were bound to react in certain ways, in the final analysis it becomes clear that the sort of person the prisoner became was the result of an inner decision, and not the result of camp influences alone. Fundamentally, therefore, any man can, even under such circumstances, decide what shall become of him – mentally and spiritually.” (p. 104-105)

The apostle Paul.

Paul wrote to the church in Corinth: “I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea. I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.” (2 Corinthians 11:23-27) With this in mind, he wrote to the church in Philippi: “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” (Philippians 4:10-12)

You.

These examples are great, but do you know who the best example is to those around you? It’s you! Not only has God given you the opportunity to grow and to draw closer to him; he’s calling you to be a powerful witness in his name. Don’t let God down. There are people watching you to see how you bear up under the difficult circumstances you are in right now. Decide right now that you will bear this burden with dignity, that you will overcome any obstacle, and that you will be joyful no matter what the circumstances. You will bless others by doing so, and as a result, you will bless yourself.

Rick Warren says, “Life is a series of problems: either you are in one now, you’re just coming out of one or you’re getting ready to go into another one. The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort. God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy. We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that’s not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ-likeness.”

I rejoice greatly that I know you. Along with the other members of the Ship’s Crew, we want you to find a job, but even more so, we want you to know the joy of the Lord.

See you on Friday at JobSeekers – where we’ll do a check up from the neck up!

Copyright © 2005-2019 / Dave O’Farrell / All Rights Reserved

How much time are you wasting?

Here we are in the early in the summer and I can see that Satan is winning some battles among us. We’ve got to resist the temptations of summer. I can tell many of you are not putting your full effort into your job search. Your absence at JS shows it; your lack of activity on LinkedIn proves it.

The topic last week was “How to earn $15K real fast.” Would you run eight $20 bills through the shredder every day? If you take the summer off, that’s the lost income for the average member of JobSeekers. Some of you are doing the equivalent of shredding money by your lack of effort!

During the meeting I asked, “If you were accused of looking for a job, would there be enough evidence to convict you?”

For many of you, the answer is “no.”

Are the temptations of summer causing you to lose focus?

In this competitive job market, you’ve got to get your game face on. You’ve got to get your act together. You’ve got to get out there every day and put the pedal to the metal. Sitting on the sidelines waiting for conditions to improve in NOT an option.

If you want to change your results, come to JS and do what we teach.

If you really want to get back to work, do everything you can do to find a job – and leave to God what only He can do. We believe in a God who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us. (See Ephesians 3:20.)

What are the implications of this?

When you succumb to the temptations of summer, your job search gets stretched out. These temptations are not sins as we typically think of sin; sin is doing (or not doing) something that prevents us from finding a job. See James 4:17, which says, “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.” Here are three examples:

1. An employer called me looking for a payroll administrator with ADP experience. I searched my database of résumés and couldn’t find a single match. I was certain we’d had someone at JobSeekers within the past six months with that background. He or she failed to send a resume to me and he or she missed a job opportunity.
2. One time I was speaking to Pat Brannon, who has given hundreds of networking leads to JobSeekers over the years. He said he gets really upset with people who he invests time with, learns their needs, gives them leads, and then they fail to follow up on them. Both Pat and I can cite specific people who have failed to follow up on networking and/or job leads. Since 80% of all jobs are found through networking, it is a safe bet that someone has missed a job because they failed to follow up.
3. People tell me they are going to take it easy during the summer. If you earn $62,500 per year and succumb to temptation by taking the entire summer off, your summer vacation will cost you $13K. If you reduce your effort by 30% (how would we measure such a thing?), your summer slump will cost you $3,600. If you can afford to do that, great; but most people I talk to need a job now.

When we are out of work and money is tight, we are more vulnerable.

Resist the temptations of summer.

Friends, the devil may have been waiting since the last crisis point in your life – like the last time you looked for a job – for you to be as vulnerable as you are now! Whether or not the Evil One caused you to lose your job, I don’t know. But I know this for sure: he will do everything he can to take advantage of the situation.

In Waking the Dead, John Eldredge asks (p. 155, the text within the brackets are my additions), “If you are having trouble taking in all of this, let me ask you: Have you had this experience? Something bad happens [you lose your job], and you start telling yourself what a jerk [failure] you are. Do you really think the source of that is just you? Or God? Think about it this way: Who would take the most delight in it? … Start by simply entertaining the notion that the source might be something besides your ‘low self-esteem.’”

Your lack of confidence, self-doubt and low self-esteem may not come from within. Here’s another thing I am sure of: when you have a negative thought that causes you to lose momentum in your campaign, it is not coming from God. Furthermore, Eldredge says that other Christians, including and especially our families, deliver some of the worst blows to our heart (p. 116 and 154). These people don’t understand who is stirring them to say things to wound you. He sights Peter as an example. When Peter told Jesus he shouldn’t go to Jerusalem for Holy Week Jesus said, “Get behind me Satan” (Matthew 16:21-23).

Since reading this book about spiritual warfare I look at my life, my business, and your job search in a different light. For example, Satan can use a televised baseball game to his advantage. Oftentimes I stay up late to watch a game that I don’t even care about. Then I sleep a little later the next day. Maybe I could have used the extra hour in the morning to help one more person find a job. When I let myself get distracted by low priority items, I can also see that they are preventing me from growing my business. If I don’t grow my business, I won’t be able to serve Christ as ably. And who would take delight in that?

In James 4:7 we are commanded to “resist the devil and he will flee from you.” And 1 Peter 5:8-9 says, “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone [you, while you are unemployed] to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers [other JobSeekers] throughout the world are undergoing the same sort of sufferings.” Take hold of these promises from God.

Be aware that the assaults on your heart can be overt, or they can be very subtle. Added together though, all of them can have an impact with eternal consequences. Your heart is good. You matter to God. He wants you to have a job and an abundant life. Resist the devil and he will flee from you!

Action item: Write to me and share how you have been engaged in battle with the Enemy.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, I implore your to recognize the enemy, resist the devil, get into God’s word, claim the power of the Holy Spirit, be steadfast in prayer, fellowship with other Christians, and work harder and smarter on your job search during the summer than you did a month ago. God has many blessings in store for you. Now that’s something you can have faith in!

Come to JobSeekers on Friday to claim the abundant life God has in store for you!

Copyright © 2004-2019 / Dave O’Farrell / All Rights Reserved

Where are you scattering your seed?

I met with a client recently who has two companies after him right now – one said, “What would it take to get you to join our company?” He just launched his campaign. We reap what we sow. This client is doing the hard work necessary to prepare himself for this competitive job market and it is paying off. He is reaping what he sowed.

Several years ago another JobSeeker, Ken King, wrote to me about some networking success he’d had. He said, “I’m convinced that networking is like planting seeds. Some will germinate, but it may take a while. The seeds need ongoing attention to help them grow.”

It occurred to me that Jesus told a similar story; it’s known as the parable of the sower, found in Matthew 13:1-9 and 18-23:

(1-9) That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop – a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. He who has ears, let him hear.”

(18-23) “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

Jesus was talking about those who hear the Good News in this parable. The way we respond to the call of God has eternal consequences. The cool thing about parables is that they teach truths about our time here on earth as well. I believe this parable is where we get the phrase, “We reap what we sow.”

When it comes to job search, this parable teaches us that we experience the consequences of our actions. The seeds and soil represent the way we sow (use) our strategy, tools and skills:

Along the path.

Job boards may seem like the path of least resistance, but Jesus teaches us that the evil one snatches our seed away. Of the four places to scatter seed, this is the only one where Jesus mentions Satan. Satan loves it when we rely on ad response because thousands of birds are snatching our résumés away before employers get to see them. Responding to ads gives us false hope.

I hear those of you scattering seeds along the path saying, “Dave, I don’t know what’s wrong, I’ve sent out 50 résumés and haven’t heard a thing back.”

In rocky places.

This represents those of us who begin networking with joy, but when trouble comes we quickly fall away. We give it a try but quickly let it go when it fails to produce a crop. We get pumped up on Friday, but by the time the sun comes up on Monday, we revert to job boards or fall into depression or get distracted by competing priorities.

Those of you who sow in rocky places say, “I’ve tried networking; I called someone and left a message and they didn’t call me back. Networking works for other people, but not for me.”

Among the thorns.

Here we are networking hard, but worries and deceitfulness choke our enthusiasm out, making our efforts unfruitful. We try networking and have some success, but get bogged down for a couple of reasons: “analysis paralysis” and “all eggs in one basket.” Sometimes we get so focused on one job that if it doesn’t bear fruit, there are no other seeds that have broken the surface, so we have to start the cycle again by sowing more seeds.

Those of you who sow among the thorns say, “I’m interviewing for a job and I need to focus all my attention on this one so I don’t blow it.”

On good soil.

Those of us who sow in good soil produce a crop 100, 60 or 30 times what we sow. Like Ruben and Ken, we “get it.” We know that producing a crop a crop takes time and informed effort. We sow some seed every day. We nurture the seed we’ve already sown. We do our best to give it the right amount of sunlight, water and fertilizer. We pull weeds and prune. Over time our efforts yield a crop – one or more job offers.

For those of you who sow in good soil, I hear you saying things like, “I met with my advisory board and they’ve given me some new ideas.” “That call didn’t go so well, but I’m not giving up.” “I asked a friend for help and you won’t believe what happened.”

We reap what we sow.

Which of these four characterizes your search? When you look around at your garden, are birds snatching your message and flying away? Do you try networking but quickly revert to job boards? Have you zeroed in on one thing to the exclusion of all others? Or do you accept disappointment and failure as part of the process of success?

ACTION ITEM: As soon as you finish reading this message, I challenge you to call three friends and ask for advice, information and/or referrals (AIR). Plant some seeds like this week’s client and Ken did.

Come to JobSeekers Friday and let us know what happened.

Copyright © 2004-2019 / Dave O’Farrell / All Rights Reserved

Never, never, never give up. You may be
10 feet from your saving light.

When I moved to Florida many years ago, I took up scuba diving. My scuba diving home was a place called Ginnie Springs in north central Florida. I use the story of my first trip to Ginnie – and the sheer terror I felt on my first dive into the spring – in some of my teaching to describe what an empowering experience it was to conquer my fears and expand my comfort zone.

A few years ago I had the pleasure of taking my kids to Ginnie for some snorkeling. We were on the way home from Tampa after a five-day cruise to celebrate my parents’ anniversary.

I love scuba diving because it is an extra-sensory experience. Most people know about the feeling of weightlessness. Light does interesting things. It doesn’t diffuse very well; that is, it doesn’t bend around corners. Reds fade to gray at a depth of 30 feet; other colors melt away as depth increases and at 120 feet everything is gray. To be weightless and in pitch black on a night dive is very disorienting.

One thing that blew me away was the fact that you can’t sense a person who is just inches away. I lost my dive buddy one time; I looked left, right, forward and backward and couldn’t see him. I thought about how much trouble I was going to be in because I lost my dive buddy. Making just the slightest movement toward the surface, I bumped into him. If he had been that close to me on terra firma, I would have felt him breathing on my neck.

Scuba divers perish 10 feet from safety.

Back to Ginnie Springs. In addition to the spring for which the park gets its name, there are two other springs there, Devil’s Eye and Devil’s Ear. These two springs are less than 100 feet apart; it’s well known that a cave connects them. In spite of repeated warnings of the imminent danger, a few untrained divers have attempted to traverse the underwater cave. You’ve probably guessed by now that some don’t make it.

One of my instructors, Steve Straatsma, was one of three or four people in Florida who recovered bodies from caves. One night he was telling us about the last extraction he’d done. It was a father and son. When they gave up hope of finding the exit, the father wrote a farewell note to his wife on an underwater tablet. Steve said the amazing thing was that they were 10 feet from daylight. If they had only looked around the next corner, if only they hadn’t given up hope.

Don’t perish 10 feet from your next job.

Being in a job search is an extra sensory experience too. Maybe you feel weightless – or maybe you feel the weight of the world on your shoulders. Perhaps everything is gray and melancholy for you, or maybe even pitch black. Maybe you can’t feel the presence of the Holy Spirit, even though he is breathing on the back of your neck. Maybe you feel like you’ll never find a job.

Friends, don’t give up! Never give up hope. Your next job may be 10 feet away, even though you can’t see it. Take Steve’s advice and look around every corner. When I experienced disappointment and frustration with my job search in September 2000, my friend Fred Fratto reminded me that it’s always darkest right before the dawn. He was right; 30 days later I had the first conversation that led to me accepting a great position with a leading training and consulting company.

Light dawns in the darkness.

You have the Light of the World (see #10 below) shining on your face; when you trust Christ to be your guide, you will never walk in darkness – you will have the Light of Life before you. Here are just a few verses concerning darkness and light:

1. Psalm 112:4 – Light dawns in the darkness for the upright; he is gracious, merciful, and righteous. (Contemporary English Version)
2. 2 Samuel 22:29 – You are my lamp, O LORD; the LORD turns my darkness into light.
3. Psalm 27:1 – The LORD is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid?
4. Psalm 119:105 – Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.
5. Isaiah 9:2 – The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.
6. Isaiah 42:16 – I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.
7. Micah 7:8 – Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light.
8. 1 Peter 2:9 – But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
9. 1 John 1:7 – But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
10. John 8:12 – When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

See you on Friday at JobSeekers, where we step out of the darkness and into the Light!

Copyright © 2004-2019 / Dave O’Farrell / All Rights Reserved

Hezekiah’s Tunnel from the Spring of Gihon

JobSeekers’ name is derived from Matthew 6:33, which says, “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” In this week’s message, we will examine one of the great Old Testament kings, Hezekiah, who descended from kings David and Solomon. Hezekiah lived the spirit of Matthew 6:33 more than 700 years before Jesus spoke those words.

The account of Hezekiah, King of Judah (the Southern Kingdom) is found in 2 Kings 18-20, 2 Chronicles 29-32, and Isaiah 36-39. He was 25 when he became king in 728 BC; he reigned 29 years, so he was 54 when he died (2 Kings 18:2 and 2 Chronicles 29:1). He was a good king and oversaw:

1. Spiritual reform.

He purified the temple (which had been corrupted by his father and other kings), oversaw great sacrifices (600 bulls and 3,000 sheep and goats), and led the spiritual reform of the people. “There was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the days of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem.” – 2 Chronicles 30:26

2. Economic prosperity.

The Israelites generously gave the first fruits of their grain, new wine, oil and honey and all that the fields produced. They brought a great amount, a tithe of everything. The chief priest said: “Since the people began to bring their contributions to the temple of the LORD, we have had enough to eat and plenty to spare, because the LORD has blessed his people, and this great amount is left over.” – 2 Chronicles 31:10

3. Relative peace.

In 722, the sixth year of Hezekiah’s reign, Israel (the adjacent Northern Kingdom) fell to Sennacherib and the Assyrians. Eight years after the fall of the Northern Kingdom, Sennacherib attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. He taunted Hezekiah and insulted the living God. Hezekiah prayed for deliverance from Sennacherib. “That night the angel of the LORD went out and put to death 185,000 men in the Assyrian camp (2 Kings 19:35 and Isaiah 37:36).” When Sennacherib fled back to Nineveh, his sons killed him with a sword.

Hezekiah’s Downfall

At the age of 39, things were going very well for Hezekiah, just like things were going well for us when we were rocking along in our careers. Guess what? Hezekiah’s heart filled with pride (2 Chronicles 32:25).

Were you full of pride when things were going well in your career? I was.

This displeased God and Hezekiah became ill. Isaiah suggests that it had something to do with boils (Isaiah 38:21). “Hezekiah’s heart was proud and he did not respond to the kindness shown him; therefore the Lord’s wrath was on him and on Judah and Jerusalem.” (2 Chronicles 32:25). Here’s the account in Isaiah 38:1-6:

In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, “This is what the LORD says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.” Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, “Remember, O LORD, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

Then the word of the LORD came to Isaiah: “Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘This is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will add 15 years to your life. And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city.’”

Hezekiah repented of the pride in his heart and God added 15 years to his life. During this time Judah enjoyed more peace and prosperity. He oversaw the building of storehouses, villages and a tunnel – which was one-third of a mile long – that brought fresh water from the Spring of Gihon into Jerusalem.

He Sought His God and Worked Wholeheartedly

Throughout his reign (with the one exception mentioned above), the key to his success lies in 2 Chronicles 31:20-21; it is one of my favorite verses for job seekers: “This is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah, doing what was good and right and faithful before the Lord his God. In everything that he undertook in the service of God’s temple and in obedience to the law and the commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered.”

Hezekiah sought his God and worked wholeheartedly; and so he prospered.

It drives me crazy when a JobSeeker tells me he or she is trusting in the Lord – and then I find out he or she is sitting on the couch watching Dr. Phil and waiting on the phone to ring. Friends, this is not what God has called us to do! He has called us to trust him AND to work wholeheartedly.

To what degree would God say you are seeking him in your job search?

To what degree would God say you are working wholeheartedly on your job search?

J.B. Kirk once said to me, “Part of our sanctification process is going through a period of brokenness.” As you go through a period of brokenness, do what Hezekiah did. Seek the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your strength. Listen to his guidance and instruction, AND work wholeheartedly on your job search as he directs you. Like Hezekiah, you will have success and prosperity again as long as you seek the Lord AND work wholeheartedly. Not only will you come out of this process with a good job, your faith will be stronger.

See you Friday at JobSeekers, where we seek the Lord and work wholeheartedly!

Copyright © 2003-2019 / Dave O’Farrell / All Rights Reserved

When I think about job seekers and the challenges we face during career transition, sometimes I think about potters and jars of clay. It’s mentioned in chapter four of Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby and Claude King. My church uses handmade pottery to serve communion to small groups. I have a beautiful watercolor painting of a clay jar in my office that was created by former JobSeeker Lori Marcum.

Clay in the Hands of the Potter

Both the Old and New Testament use clay as a metaphor. In the OT, we are described as clay in the hands of The Potter. Isaiah 64:8 says, “Yet, O LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.” We are being transformed into the image of God and of his son Jesus. It is amazing what can be accomplished, and how we can be transformed, when we place ourselves in The Potter’s hands.

Here’s the same metaphor used in Jeremiah18:1-6: “This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: ‘Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.’ So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. Then the word of the LORD came to me: ‘O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?’ declares the LORD. ‘Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.’”

We get marred on this journey of life, and yet The Potter forms us into another pot. What new pot is the Lord shaping you into?

Jars of Clay

In the New Testament, we are described as jars of clay. First Corinthians 4:7 says, “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” It’s only we when go through the kiln of life that we become shiny and strong. Yet our earthy bodies are nothing compared to the extraordinary bodies we will have in heaven. Paul makes one thing known for sure: these earthly bodies, fragile though they are, can hold God’s treasure — his all-surpassing power.

As you experience your job search, and with this in mind, ask God these three questions:

1. Lord, what do you want me to learn as I go through my job search?

Oftentimes, we put lids on our jars that prevent us from hearing God’s gentle leading or from receiving His blessings. Open your eyes and ears, hearts and minds to the leading of His spirit. Respond to His call. For instance, here’s what a JobSeeker wrote one time:

“He’s TRULY A GOOD GOD, because even when I gave up on myself, He never gave up on me. There was one thing I especially learned through my journey: I had to give up on myself in order for Him to work on me. Please let everyone know that I am praying for all of them. God will move in our lives on His time, not ours.”

2. How do you want me to change?

Allow The Potter to mold you into the person he wants you to be. Einstein’s definition of insanity applies. To get a different result, we have to think differently, do things differently and become a different person. One fellow that I met with said “I am a spiritually changed man because of this 16-month job search.” Shortly after that he received an offer out of the blue (or from Heaven above?) on a position that was dead two months earlier. God is good.

3. Who do you want me to serve in your name?

This job search is not about you only; it’s about how you are going to use the talents God has given you to serve his purposes here on this earth. We receive blessings so that we may be a blessing to others. Whether it’s through your vocation, avocation – or just the selfless gift of your time and energy, serve others. Some of the best therapy I’ve ever experienced is when I’ve helped others. Ask God to fill your jar up so that you can pour his blessings on others.

If you do this — learn, change, serve — you will be ready to withstand the hardships associated with job search. Listen to the next two verses in 1 Corinthians 4:8-9: “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” No matter how badly things are going at the moment, God will never leave you nor forsake you.

See you Friday at JobSeekers; the place where we fill our jars up!

Copyright © 2004-2019 / Dave O’Farrell / All Rights Reserved