THE LAST FEW MONTHS have been quite challenging for many of us. The period has been a time of disappointment, depression, discomfort, doubt and, in some cases, fear.
Some of us have lost our jobs; gone through a divorce; lost a loved one; been diagnosed with an illness; battled an addiction; lost our homes; and, worse yet, fought for custody of our children.
It seems as if every day it’s a fight; when it isn’t one thing it’s another. Although you may feel this way, I want to encourage you to keep hope alive.
I want to let you know that you are not alone. Many others are going through some of what you are facing. I am also experiencing it as I am currently unemployed.
Is it challenging and uncomfortable? Yes, but despite all of this, I choose to keep hope alive. Where my hope is located is the home of breakthrough, provision and success. I will not suffer for this too shall pass.
I believe the global recession was a needed wake-up call to the entire world. It came unexpectedly to most and has revealed to us areas in our lives that need critical adjustment.
We in Barbados have lived a privileged and somewhat comfortable life for more than a decade prior to the start of the recession. We enjoyed free education and health care, increments in salary, a low crime rate, a moderate cost of living and job security. We placed our hope in our jobs, the Government, our spouses, our businesses and our educational achievements.
Many of us went as far as allowing money to become our masters, and our hope to attain wealth became our main desire. As a result, we deceived each other to gain it, we stole and took short cuts to possess it and we became greedy and selfish in order to increase it.
The things and people in which we placed our hope have now disappointed us. Many of us live in fear and worry, wondering if we will be next to lose our homes or jobs.
We must all keep hope alive but where our hope is located is of great importance.
The last seven weeks were very difficult for my family and me. On August 1, we moved to a new home and six days later I was unemployed. That same weekend, someone maliciously attempted to defame my name and character on the Internet.
Following that, my children, my wife and I were sick at different times over a period of five weeks. I reversed and hit the right side of my car, and then someone reversed and touched the left side. I ordered a car part from Britain and when it arrived it was the wrong one. The battery of my Mac laptop swelled and destroyed my trackpad and now I have to replace both. All of a sudden, my iPhone is sticking, restarting itself and even cancelling calls, so I have to get a new phone.
On Monday evening I cried my heart out before the Lord. I mean really cried – the ugly-face, snotty-nose cry. I told God, “I am your son, I have served you faithfully and I need you to provide for me and I need a breakthrough.”
On Tuesday afternoon, I took two cheques to the bank to help pay some of my bills because I didn’t have enough money to pay all. Since the cheques weren’t from my bank, the teller informed me she had to deposit them but since I had enough on the account she would withdraw the amount in cash.
This news was shocking to me since I knew I didn’t have a tenth of the amount on the account. I left the counter confused and went to the ATM and did a balance inquiry, only to realize that I had enough money to pay all my bills. After doing some investigations, I was informed that I had received my income tax return. Talk about provision and breakthrough.
I don’t know where your hope is located, but mine is found in Christ. If He can do it for me, He can surely do it for you.
• Corey Worrell is a former Commonwealth Youth Ambassador. Email coreyworrell@gmail.com.
