What’s that in your hand?

Remember when God spoke to Moses at the burning bush?  God told Moses he wanted him to go back to Egypt and lead the people out to the Promised Land.  Moses looked and said – “You’ve got to be kidding – I’m not the person for a job like that.”  God assured Moses he would prepare the way and he would provide some pretty convincing miracles.  Still Moses had a hard time believing he was up to the task.  He pleaded – “I can’t speak well, I don’t have a college degree, I’m a convicted felon – please, send anyone else!”  Now here we have someone with an obvious opportunity.  Wouldn’t you like for God to lay out such a clear plan for you; and to promise success in advance.  But that wasn’t good enough for Moses.  He kept trying to convince God he didn’t have any of the necessary requirements for accomplishing this big job.  Moses said “they won’t believe me.  I don’t have anything to qualify me for doing something great.”  And God came back with, “What is that in your hand?”   If you don’t remember, it was his shepherd’s staff, which turned out to be a pretty significant part of his leadership.  He turned it into a snake, parted the Red Sea with it and did some other pretty cool stuff.

If you think you’re stuck, don’t have any unusual talents, don’t have the right degrees, and don’t have the credibility to have people take you seriously – let me ask you a question:  “What do you have in your hand?”  What natural talents do you have?  What is it that you do with excellence?  Do you make beautiful candles?  Delicious bread?  Encourage the elderly?  Sing like an angel?  Draw stunning flowers?  Handle your children with grace?  You get the idea – just look at what you have right in front of you. 

With God’s help you may already have everything you need for greatness.  Don’t balk when you hear the first strains of your music.  You may want to read the Biblical account for yourself:  Exodus 3-4:17 

You’re not smart enough for this…..?

In doing research on current job trends this week I came across this notice to job-seekers from probably the best-known outplacement firm in the country.   

”In order to enter one of our outplacement programs, we require sponsorship by an employee’s company. The reason we cannot accept people without corporate sponsorship is that we cannot overcome the awkward ethical/functional dilemma inherent in working with an ‘unsponsored’ individual. Good outplacement requires the freedom to counsel the client even when their wants conflict with their needs. In a ‘retail’ relationship, both parties are either consciously or subconsciously prone to define the client as a customer and therefore the ultimate arbiter of what is right or wrong tactically.”

It appears pretty obvious that they don’t expect you as a job-seeker to be qualified to be in the driver’s seat for any of the process of getting a new job.  So please allow me to interpret their message for you. 

To start with, you certainly can’t afford the $4000-$6000 we are going to charge your company to hold your hand in this process.  Secondly, you really aren’t smart enough to know what’s best for you.  And thirdly we are really good at simply duplicating the miserable life you had previously and don’t want to be bothered by taking the time to hear about your personal dreams and passions at this stage of your life.  We don’t have the experience or the inclination to help you create your own unique and perhaps non-traditional work path.  Don’t bore us with terms like personal fulfillment, finding your mission in life, or having work you love.  We’re pros at putting your behind in the next cubicle in this non-ending series of boring chapters in your life.

I certainly hope this approach would make you run the other way.  You most assuredly should be in the driver’s seat for any transition in your own job/life.  No one knows as much or cares as much as you.  Yes, you may be able to benefit from a coach but you don’t want an organization to take over and treat you like a robot.  85% of the process of finding proper direction and fulfilling God’s purpose comes from looking inward – only 15% from looking at work history and credentials.  Only you are qualified to see these subtle patterns that embrace your passions, your relationships, and the things that give you a sense of joy and meaning.  Don’t allow circumstances or a prescribed “outplacement” plan make decisions that you deserve to make.  Some fancy organization may be able to squeeze you into a “job” but they aren’t likely to help you create the “life” you want.