Week 308: Marriages and Job Loss

This week please remember in prayer those married couples who are living through the loss of a job.

In addition to the financial pressures a job loss can bring to a marriage, it can also cause the one who has lost the job to question his or her self-worth. If a new job does not materialize quickly, hope can be lost and, when hope is lost, inertia can set in and eventually lead to deep depression.

If both spouses have been working, the spouse who is still employed will often attempt to make up some of the income loss by working more hours. This response, though helpful in closing the income gap, can inadvertently create a feeling of guilt in the life of the spouse who has lost the job, while at the same time exhaust the spouse who is taking on the extra work, particularly if the situation continues for an extended time.

Inertia, depression, guilt and exhaustion are all negative effects of job loss, each of which can cause marriages to spiral out of control, possibly causing couples to descend into the blame game, a game in which there is no winner, not the husband, not the wife, not the marriage.

Pray that couples living through a job loss will

• Remember their standing before God has not changed; they are still His beloved children
• Not lose hope but trust in God as their source of provision
• Not descend into the blame game
• Be blessed with a new job, one even better than before
• Be spared the crippling effect of guilt
• Be wise in their efforts to balance their income needs with their need for rest
• Be supported in prayer and generosity by fellow believers