Thank you for this reminder.
I have very often said that all good gifts come from above and that all evil that may befall us is the result of the exercise of the unconsecrated free will of individuals, straggling consequences of past actions or in some isolated cases directly from the dark spiritual realm.
God in His Permissive, not direct, Will may permit these events, by trying our faith, with the sole purpose of furthering our spiritual growth and endurance.
We often however, and me personally, have made the grievous mistake in the past of believing God has it in for us. There is nothing we can do to make God love us more or make Him love us less.
God in His Sovereignty tempts no one, but in His permissive will only allows certain undesirable events, whether they be brought on by exterior forces or we bring it upon ourselves, always in His Love and with His perfect intention for us in mind.
Francis Schaeffer's son-in-law Os Guinness wrote a book called In Two Minds: The Dilemma of Doubt. One of the central themes of the book was that we start to doubt God, when we stop acknowledging Him and stop thanking Him for what He's done.
If I understand it right, you are facing a loss of work and income. After awhile, the temptation will be to say "God, why didn't You given me another job?" So every day, thank God for putting food on your table, whatever that food might be. Thank God for the food in your pantry for the next day. Thank God for the skills He gave you, which could be used to provide for your family tomorrow. Thank God for all of the things that you still own, that you could sell tomorrow if needed, to feed your family.
We often however, and me personally, have made the grievous mistake in the past of believing God has it in for us.
As have I, many many times. Things can always get worse, even to the point of death, meaning if God hasn't killed you yet then He still has plans for you. Those plans might be to live in poverty for awhile, but that's better than being dead (and on the other hand, Paul tells us that "to live is Christ, but to die is gain")! When I go through hardships like this, I keep these four verses in front of me at all times to remind me that if I'm not dead, there's still hope that things can change:
"Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?"
-- Genesis 18:26"Though he slay me, I will hope in him; yet I will argue my ways to his face."
-- Job 13:15And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
-- Romans 8:28...giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ...
-- Ephesians 5:20
because he wants us to love Him