01 Jul Graduated! What’s next? – July 15

By Jeffry Oscar

As we are graduating and applying for jobs, we start to realize that getting a job wasn’t as easy as we thought. Competing for an entry level job seems to be as challenging as having four final exams in a week. With current unemployment rate at 6.1% in Australia, it means more than one in every 20 able-to-work people that you meet on the street is currently unemployed and actively looking for work.

When I transitioned back from U.S. I was struggling to look for a new job in Sydney for 6 months. There were period where I prayed fervently and waking up the next morning believing and reminded myself that God is good even though I hadn’t been offered any job. On the other hand, there were also days where I wondered why God did not allow me to get a job yet.

If we look at Genesis 2:15, it is clear that God created human to work and to tend the garden that He has created. In other word, we were not created to be lazy, sipping the coconut and just lying at the beach all day, every day. “If God created us to work, why did He making it so hard for us to get it?” That question seems absurd, but my mind did circle around it when I was downcast by receiving multiple emails with the following excerpt: “Unfortunately, your application has been unsuccessful”.

However, during those difficult time, God does reveal to me to not losing hope, as He has something better prepared than “what & how” I want it to be. His words through the Bible reminded me of a sovereign and loving God week in, week out.

If we go back to Genesis 2:15, God never mentioned that human were created to work and tend whichever garden that human prefer. No, it was the garden that was created and placed by God for human. While you were applying for jobs and waiting for responses, researching about business opportunity might be your garden that you actually need to work at. Spending time with your brother/sister in Christ when they need someone to listen, doing mission trip, honing your programming skills, learning how to cook, etc; any of these can be the current “garden” for you to tend while waiting to hear from your prospective employer. So don’t lose hope if you haven’t been offered a job yet. Lighten up, keep trying and more importantly reconnect every day with our Creator to know which “garden” that is given to us to be tended today.

As you are entering the adventure of finding a job in a workplace, I pray that we are humble enough to listen and trust God for our future! Jesus loves you! J