How Do I Prepare for Job Loss Without Living in Constant Fear?

Speaker A00:00:37

What if of a layoff stealing your what is of today? It's hard to feel financially confident when you feel like you're standing on a trapdoor.But there's a massive difference between prepared and being panicked. And today we're going to build a fortress of practical wisdom and spiritual peace so that even if the ground shakes, you remain unshaken.Hello friend, Ralph Estep Jr. Here. Welcome to Financially Confident Christian.If you're new to the show, our goal every single day is to break that cycle of financial shame with confidence. And today we're going to talk about what happens when the ground shakes.And we're going to talk about balancing proactively preparing for job loss with a spirit of faith filled peace. Let's get right to today's listener question. Listener writes this Ralph the fear of losing my job follows me everywhere.I lie awake playing all the worst case scenarios and I'm exhausted from the constant worry. I want to be responsible and have a plan, but also want to trust and have peace. How do I prepare wisely without letting fear dictate everything?I need something grounded in both practical wisdom and faith, not just panic. And I'll tell you what, when I read that question, I love the way the listener ended that faith, not just panic.And I think that's what we really need to lean into today. Because wisdom, even Christian wisdom, builds the plan, but faith sustains the person. And that's what we need to figure out today.How do we sustain you during these difficult times? Because listen, so many of us are going to face this. Let's start by doing this. Write down the worst case plan scenario.I took the Dale Carnegie courses here in the United States. There's this guy, he was a philanthropist, he was a captain of industry. His name was Dale Carnegie and I took several of his classes.You probably heard the book how to Win Friends and Influence People. By the way, it's a great book. I highly recommend that. It will change your dynamic of your life.But one of the other things we talked about, there was another class that I took called Leadership Training for Managers where we learned how to work with people one on one. And one of the things that we taught or was taught in that course is to write down and plan the worst case scenario. Just be honest with yourself.Look, this is what could happen, but then work like the dickens for it to not happen. Because here's the problem. Fear grows in the dark.Those things I remember as a kid, like the monster that lived in the closet or the monster that lived under the bed if you didn't see it, oh, it was scary, right? But when you bring it into the light, when you write down exactly what you would do if you lost your job tomorrow.And listen, I hope you never have to experience that. I hope you never have the pain. I've worked with so many clients over my 30 year career who have been through that. But answer the question.Who would you call when that happens? Who are the people you're going to surround yourself with?What would you cut, what would you do right away and see if you have a written plan on paper, it stops from spinning in your head. It's so easy for us to live in that dread cycle of what are we going to do? What are we going to do but start by putting it out on paper?Yeah, I'm going to lose my job and here's what I'm going to do. Second thing I'm going to encourage you to do is build a feeder savings account.Something as simple as $10 a week, automate it and transfer it to a dedicated job loss fund. I was working with a client not too long ago, he had a job loss fund.He'd been working for the Same company for 20 years and he had a ton of money sitting over. I said, why are you doing it? He goes, ralph, you never know. He said to me, he said, ralph, we're all replaceable. And it's the truth.See, the act of doing something proactive signals to your brain that you're taking control. That's what, see, fear is reduced when we take control. And when we take control, we reduce that feeling of helplessness.Let's get into the next thing. You got to distinguish between control and concern because there's a distinct difference here. I'm sorry, but you can't control the economy.You can't control your boss's decisions. Those things are beyond your control. You can't say to the economy, I want you to do well. You can't say to your boss, don't make that decision.But you also have to own some of this. You can control your spending. You can decide where I'm going to spend my money, how I'm going to save my money. You can control your resume.You can control the skills that you have, what you plan to do. How do you diversify yourself? And you can certainly control your prayer life, what you put before the Lord in prayer.So focus 100% of your energy on what you can control and surrender the rest to God. That act of surrender will free you from something. Listen, most of the time you can't control it anyway. It's like the prayer of serenity.Give it to God. Because guess what? During these times you might find that there's only one set of footprints. If you haven't heard that one, go read it.God's going to carry you during these times. But you also got to diversify your identity. So many of us, guilty as charged. Our self worth is tied to our job title.I don't know how many times I've introduced myself to somebody and said, I am this, I am the president of this, I'm the vice president of this. You hear me say it on the show. I was the executive vice president of the credit union.And we lose our self worth in feeling like if we lost that title, we lose ourself. So I'm going to challenge you right now something a little bit unconventional. This is a great time to invest time in your family.When you have a downturn, when you lose your job, guess what? You're going to have to go to. You're going to have to go to your family. Those are going to be the people that support you. Invest in your church.Reach out to other people. Hey, maybe you've got a great job. Maybe you're self employed. Reach out to that person right now that's struggling.Reach out to that person right now who's going through that job loss or they're fearful that job loss. Just give a little encouragement. One of the things I love about this show is people say to me, ralph, what's this show all about?And I say it's about giving you a financial hug. I think the world would be a better place if we all gave each other a hug every once in a while. But focus on your hobbies as well.Remind yourself that you're a child of God who happens to work at a company. It's not the other way around. That's your identity. You're a child of God. Maybe you work at a company, but it doesn't work the other way.And number five, pre decide your first fruits response. Decide now.Even in a transition we talked about at the beginning, even if you have that job loss, say to yourself right now, you know what, if I go through that season, I'm still going to be a generous person. Plan to remain faithful in your giving. Listen, maybe it's a smaller amount, maybe it's a smaller scale. God understands that.Listen, God knows what's going on. He sees it. The season you're in right now might be a lean season, but God knows your heart.So Keep your heart focused on God as your provider, not your paycheck. Because in the end, a plan is a tool. It's great to have a plan. I do plans all day long.Having a system is good, but don't ever lose sight that God is your provider, not your employer, not your paycheck. God is. Let's talk right now about a win that we can do today. Here's a practical thing that you can do right now.If you have that fear of losing your job or getting downsized or any of Those things, spend 15 minutes today upgrading your LinkedIn profile. If you don't know what LinkedIn is, go check it out. It's a great place for people in business. Or maybe take that time and work on your resume.I don't have any people that said to me, ralph, I lost my job. And I said, well, do me a favor, send me your resume. Oh, I gotta work on that. I haven't put a resume together in 20 years.I think you should always have a resume up to date sitting in a file that you can use tomorrow. Because as my client said, we're all replaceable.But that right there is a practical step that prepares you for the future while providing your worrying brain. Listen, we're flesh. We're going to worry. But having a plan will tell you that you're capable and ready for whatever comes next.Well, let's get to our Bible verse today. It comes from the book of Psalms, chapter 46, verses 1 and 2. This is another one. I think you need to imprint this Everywhere.Again, Psalms 46, verses 1 and 2. God is our refuge and strength, and ever present help in trouble.Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea. I love this verse. Our refuge and strength ever present in trouble we will not fear. See, this verse acknowledges that things can fall apart.Things are going to fall apart. You're going to have struggles in your life. But living in that lack of fear isn't based on the stability of the world.It's based on the stability of our refuge, Jesus Christ. Let's pray together, Lord. Right now I want to pray for the one who feels like they're walking on eggshells at work.So many of us have been in that same place, Lord. And right now I call on you for supernatural peace. To guard their heart, Lord, and call guard their mind, Lord.Give them wisdom of Joseph to prepare for those lean times. But also give them the heart of David to trust in your protection at all times, Lord.Quiet, the voices of anxiety and replace them with the assurance that all we really need is you and a simple plan for the next step. Because Lord, we trust you and we know that you're going to provide every need according to your riches in glory.And we ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen. Friend. Hear me on this. You can be prepared for the worst while still expecting God's best.You might not see it at the time, but God has a plan for your life. And if you've got a question for this show, I would love to answer your question on the show.You can get to it by going to financiallyconfidentchristian.com/question We'll put that in the show notes. You can just click right on the link. But again, it's financiallyconfidentchristian.com/questionThank you so much for joining me. Today is a tough one today.I've never been through that job loss personally, but just listen to what I said today and just remember, you're a child of God and He's got this. No matter how dark it seems now about how hard the storm is raging, God is right there with you. So stay financially savvy.God bless you and you have a great day.