Prayer leads to fulfilling job

At a time when the job market was tight, I was unemployed, and had been for some time. Not only did I feel discouraged, but I was also jealous whenever I heard that someone else had been able to find work.

One day, as I reached out to God in prayer, the story of Jacob came to thought. The Bible tells us that when Jacob was alone and troubled, he wrestled with an angel and refused to let the angel go until it blessed him (see Genesis 32:24–30). 

I realized I had a choice to make: Was I going to let a limited, material view of the employment situation bring me down with discouragement, jealousy, and self-pity, or was I going to take a spiritual view and trust that God meets every need abundantly? I decided to side with God and not let go of His angel messages until I felt confident of the divine presence and God’s loving care for me. 

I pondered a statement in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy: “In the scientific relation of God to man, we find that whatever blesses one blesses all, as Jesus showed with the loaves and the fishes,—Spirit, not matter, being the source of supply” (p. 206). The word whatever in that passage stood out to me. Praying for a fuller understanding of God’s infinite goodness, I considered the question “What truly blesses?” The answer, I saw, was that God, divine Spirit, is the source of all good. 

I realized I had accepted the subtle belief that opportunities for employment are limited by circumstances—who you know, what education you have, whether you’re in the right place at the right time. But the spiritual fact is that man’s Principle, divine Love, is impartial and universal. It is not dependent on person, place, or things. 

My thought shifted. Every time I heard about an opportunity that had unfolded for someone else, I was quick to acknowledge God as the true source. I likened this evidence of good to sensing the presence of wind by seeing the movement of the trees. I became more convinced of the constant activity of God’s goodness and knew that it blessed me, too. The envy and discouragement fell away. I became grateful for all the good I was seeing and expectant of its unfoldment in my own life.

In a very short time I found employment in a most unusual way—and it turned out to be my dream job. I was in that position for 12 years, and it afforded me many opportunities to grow in my trust and confidence in our divine Principle, Love, which forever blesses us all.

Joan McCormick
Chico, California, US