People in America Need God Too. We may often think that because we live in America, considered by many the strongest country in the world, that we, as individuals, cannot show a sign of weakness. We somehow believe that we should be strong enough to withstand the trials from life that come our way, alone. But we’re wrong. Hardship comes to all of us—the weak and the strong—at some point in our lives. Why? Simply because we live in this world where evil is real and bad things do happen to good and bad people alike, no exceptions.

For decades, Americans have supported the mission fields in distant lands like Africa, Asia, and Latin America forgetting that we, in the United States of America, need God too. In 1999, I left my banking career to work for a church for five years. I thought I would remain in ministry for the rest of my working life. But God had other plans. He called me back to the business world, this time to start a bank. When I left the church, I told the senior pastor, my boss, “Just as God calls people to distant lands to be the light and that is their mission field, God has called me to the business world in America—that is my mission field where God needs me so I can minister to the business people.” And that’s the reason why I left my executive banking job, almost five years ago, to pursue my calling: to help working people be successful in every area of their lives, and that includes their spiritual life. So, in a way, I’m back in ministry. This time in the right mission field and with all of you, the working people in America.

But my assignment is not only to share the Good News of the Gospel with all of you but also to pray for you. I currently have business colleagues and friends who are hurting. Some have asked me to pray for a job, others are fighting cancer, while others are going through a painful divorce. Some are suffering because their kids have gone the wrong way and yet others have broken relationships. And I’m not exempt from pain either, I have lived with migraines for over 30 years and lately I’ve been very worried about my parents living in Nicaragua during these times of political instability. I have also survived an earthquake in Nicaragua when I was six years old, lived through the revolution for two years before fleeing Nicaragua, arrived to the Dominican Republic as a refugee and two months later, Hurricane David devastated the island. I was only thirteen! I then moved to the United States when I was nineteen years old and came here alone. But God was with me through each life experience and I owe it all to Him.

Business people, working people, ALL people in America need God too! If you need prayer in any area of your life, send me a private message and I will be happy to pray for you. But I’m just a messenger to the business world and God deserves all the credit, not me at all! So, I want to leave you with a Scripture from Paul to the church of Corinth:

1 Corinthians 3:6 (NLT) “My job was to plant the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God, not we, who made it grow.”

2009 - The Year to Help Each Other. 2009 is well under way now. The cold January in Minnesota is over and we are now looking forward to spring. This year will be a challenging year for all of us as the layoffs and the fragile economy hits close to home. These are unique times we have not lived through before but we, Americans, always pull together and push through. That's the one piece of history we can be sure of and count on.

As we strive to achieve balance in our lives, we must remember to also balance the fear we may be feeling these days. There is so much information thrown at us, there is the reality of our own lives, and there is the uncertainty of the future. So, how much do we worry? How much do we not worry about? We can't just sit back and relax while our friends and relatives (or even ourselves) are getting laid off and losing their jobs. At the same time, we can't worry so much that it affects our health.

If you recently received the news that your job will be eliminated, don’t panic. There are things you can do to get back on track. I know in this economy it will be harder but for God nothing is impossible and He can connect you and give you new opportunities in the midst of economic chaos. Today, I would like to share with you some ideas on how you can have some balance during these times and how you can help your friends who may have lost their jobs.

First, you need to pray and ask God for direction. Don’t go at this alone. He will give you the wisdom, grace, hope, and strength to go through this experience.

If you don’t always have your resume ready and up to date, you need to do that immediately. Ask a few of your friends who do hiring as part of their jobs to review your resume and give you feedback. It is important to provide a professional resume that is to the point and provides pertinent information. Include an objective, a summary of your skills, and then list each job with dates and the tasks you performed along with your accomplishments. Resumes should be in chronological order from most recent to oldest and should be easy to read and have absolutely no typos in them.

Start setting up meetings (coffee is the least expensive) with people you know that can connect you to companies within the industry you’re interested in working at. Bring your resume to every meeting.

Print business cards with your personal information such as name, address, email address and phone number where people can reach you. This is a good idea to have even when you’re not looking for a job.

Post your resume in the Internet in web sites such as www.monster.com. Many companies sign up with these types of services to recruit candidates.

Look in associations’ web sites for job opportunities. For example, in banking we use the Minnesota Bankers Association to post positions available. You, as a candidate, can look in their web site for an opportunity that you may be interested in.

If you are employed, then make an effort to help your friends who may be looking. Below are some ideas of what you can do to help them:

Encourage them to continue the search and to not give up.
Connect them with people you think may be able to help them.
Follow up with them to ensure they are still looking or simply to encourage them again.
Pray for them daily and ask God to help them find a job.
If you can help them with their resumes then take the time to do it. You can do this easily through emails.

As you can see, there are things we can do to help ourselves and help each other. The most important thing though is to not lose hope and to encourage one another as we go through these tough times knowing that God does care for us.