Help Wanted. We see these signs and advertisements everywhere. Yet we all know people looking for employment but having a darned hard time finding a job. Why is that? I asked a few business owners and got a variety of answers:

• “I’m a small business. I need highly trusted individuals willing to work hard for the same pay that some larger company’s jobs pay employees to sit around on their phones doing virtually nothing.”
• “People don’t have the skills necessary, and even if I offer to train them and to bump their pay once they learn, they don’t want to try or stick with it.”
• “People aren’t interested in skilled labor. They want something more glamorous, whatever that is.”

Asking some of my jobless acquaintances why they thought they were having a hard time finding work, I heard varying stories from them as well:

• “I took a job where the company was so understaffed that I ended up covering for other empty positions for which I had no training. It was assumed I would work extra hours figuring it out and filling those roles along with what I was hired to do. I did not receive appreciation, breaks, or extra pay for doing the extra jobs. Additionally, because I was doing these jobs well, they made no move to hire anyone. I got burned out.”
• “They don’t want to pay me what I’m worth.”
• “I want to work remotely.”
• “There is nothing in the field or location where I am looking.”

Whether the reasons for the lack of work/workers come from the employers or those seeking employment, it boils down to the fact that the incentive for people to work is not strong enough.

I heard some Christian missionaries speak about the amazing work God is doing in the hearts and lives of the people they are ministering to – in my city, my state, my country, and in countries all over the world. These mission leaders were asked, “What is your biggest need?” The answer was unanimous. Workers. Culturally and spiritually the shortfall is the same.

On the spiritual side, people are realizing that being self-sufficient isn’t sufficient at all. In extreme cases, self-sufficiency lands you in prison, in addiction, in poverty, in estrangement from your family and friends. In cases that on the surface look like people are doing well in every area, you still hear of EMPTINESS that success cannot fill, HOPELESSNESS that the rat race and grind are for naught, and LONELINESS that is the price for what has been achieved.

People are hungry to be saved from themselves. Saved from societal pressures. Saved from the weight of sin and imperfection. As Christians, we have the answer to these heartaches – Jesus! If our own empty space is filled by Him, we overflow with the joy that comes from that. We are burdened for those who don’t have a personal relationship with Him. Our motivation, our mission, is to see hurting people experience the same SUFFICIENCY in Jesus that we have.

Our co-mission given by Jesus Himself is to come alongside Him, make disciples (Jesus- followers) of all nations, and teach people about Him. (Matthew 28: 19-20) Here is the rub: sometimes it takes work that we don’t want to do, for little or no pay, that is often a thankless or even a persecuted position. We feel we aren’t qualified, and we definitely don’t want to go outside of our geography or capability comfort zone to participate.

As Christians, we are given the BEST of incentives to be His workers. We serve a Creator-Savior who gives us life – now and for eternity! Our gratitude and love are our motivation to serve Him, and spiritual blessings and eternal rewards are the payout. Regretfully, we often allow life’s distractions, fear, or apathy to take our focus off the hurting masses AND the fact that we have the anecdote, so we remain quiet.

If nothing else, we should PRAY!

• for ourselves as workers to be diligent and intentional
• that He will provide more people dedicated to sharing the Good News
• for those who hear to receive Jesus’s love with open hearts
• for the enemy to have no power to interfere with the mission

For those He calls out of our comfort zone, pray for the strength to carry out the assignment.  😊

When [Jesus] saw the crowds, He had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.” Matthew 9:36-38