Have you ever sat down to ask yourself this question? Ok, lets pause for a moment if you are reading this and you have been hunting for a job for a while now. How unemployable are you?

Am sure you have never given it much serious thought right? That’s one of the reasons why you are not unemployable. Now don’t get me wrong or conclude that am following the norms and newspaper reports. Be it far from it. Follow me on this “short” journey.

We have different people in the job hunting market. University Graduates, Doctorate graduates, different school drop-outs, “Job drop-outs”, “wrong job drop outs” and etc. And the singular question all these people ask is “Why me?”

Now, am not going to bore you with all the statistical details of unemployment and why youths are not employed. The information is on the open market for all and with Election coming up next month, promise galore on the job opportunities to be provided. But we ar yet to see the actionable plans to that effect save from one candidate and it’s yet to be explicitly clear.

Unemployment Rate in Nigeria increased to 23.90 percent in 2011 from 21.10 percent in 2010. Unemployment Rate in Nigeria averaged 14.60 Percent from 2006 until 2011, reaching an all time high of 23.90 Percent in 2011 and a record low of 5.30 Percent in 2006. Putting it in proper perspective, Several reports put Nigeria’s unemployment rate at about 24 percent; and 60 per cent of the country’s population are youths, translating to about 80 million Nigeria youths. Youth unemployment rate is over 50 percent; about 64 million Nigeria youths are unemployed. Scary you will agree with me.

I don’t want to follow the regular nuances as regards the cause of unemployment in Nigeria and the regular solutions been proffered to solve it. Am taking it from a different perspective, that most often we are blinded to that side.

Let me start by asking, why do you want to work? Why do you want to change jobs? Why are you in that job? Let me guess the answer, “I want to make more money! To take care of myself and my family!” Fantastic!!!!!

But have you really sat down to give it a much deeper thought? “Hey, I just need to get a job and be getting out of this house every day!!” I know, I have been there and my own blood is in that quagmire as well. So I tend to know how it feels. But back to the questions, have you really considered why you want to work?

Let me state here, if you do not want to know the truth, simply move to another page now to read and don’t bother yourself to continue. But if you want to learn the truth, please feel free to continue with an open mind devoid of sentiments.

Let’s journey through the scriptures; Matt 6:30-34, (MSG), “If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.

34“Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.”

A familiar scripture it will seem. But take a close look at the highlighted sentence, “..not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving”. The truth is, many of us are so preoccupied with what we will get as against what God wants to give us. More money, ,more comfort. Let me put it to you in the version of KJV, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” Now much more clear??

What is God’s kingdom? What is God giving that am so pre-occupied to receive it? Picture God as your earthly father who loves you. Will he want the best for you? Yes! Does he want you to fare well? Yes! Will he do everything in his power to ensure you prosper? Yes! And that is exactly what he says in Matt 6:30 “If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you?”

Where we miss it most times is, we are pre-occupied with ourselves just as I stated earlier. It’s always me, myself and i. We love ourselves more than we profess we love God. And 1 John 5:3 is abundantly clear on how we should love God, “Do we love God? Do we keep his commands? The proof that we love God comes when we keep his commandments and they are not at all troublesome” MSG.

Is this a sermon? No. But if we do not align ourselves to the manual that guides our lives, then we have lost it totally. What are God’s commands? The 10 commandments? Interestingly No. The dos and don’ts handed down to us by our “Pastors and churches”? Interestingly as well, No. What then is God’s commandment?

Matt 22:37-40, MSG, “Jesus said, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.’ This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.’ These two commands are pegs; everything in God’s Law and the Prophets hangs from them”

Now, I want to put the spotlight on the second commandment, “Love others as well as you love yourself.” Is the reason you want that job for yourself or others? Lets use the scripture as an anchor, we just read it now. Your purpose for trying to get a job is not primarily for yourself, but for others. Does that mean other people’s burden becomes yours? The answer, for you to reflect on, why did Jesus die? Whose burden did he bear? Matt 11:28-30.

The moment we realize that we are it’s not about us in our search for a job, or change of jobs, it puts a whole lot of things into perspective for you. When you realize that its first about God! That you have no agenda of yourself that you want to fulfil. And the scriptures is filled with such people who sought out God’s agenda first above their own agenda. Joseph, had to stay longer in the prison until he realized that it’s not his agenda, but God before Pharaoh had his dream, and God used him to preserve his people and the genealogy of Jesus Christ by making him the Prime Minister of Egypt, and a Father to Pharaoh, (a job he did not apply for). Daniel, proposed in his heart to eat that which only pleases God and not Nebuchadnezzar, he became a high ranking official in his kingdom, and not only his kingdom, two more kingdoms after his demise. The kingdom of his son, when he became the 3 highest ranking official, and the kingdom of Darius, his chief adviser. (Both jobs he did not apply for).

Am I saying you should not apply for a job? No! Samuel’s job was applied for him before he was even born by his mother. But his mother gave him to God to use and he midwife a kingdom for Israel and set Israel on a pathway of nationhood. Joshua, led the children of Israel into the Promised Land. He together with Caleb, stood for God when they went to spy the land on the orders of Moses. Other 10 spies chickened out, leading to 40 years of wandering in the desert, but the two of them stood for God and told the people, we can take this land! You must realize that when you stand for God, you stand for the people. You don’t stand for yourself. Standing for yourself, you fail! King Saul of Israel, was fearful his people will revolt against him, and disobeyed the command of God, that made him king. Jonah, was interested in his desire to ensure Nineveh was punished for oppressing the Israelites, but God had other plans, which was to save them. Jonah spent 3 days in the belly of the fish before he understood it’s not about him but God. Paul, (formerly Saul) pursued his agenda, before he got an appointment to do God’s job the moment he realized its about God and his people.

We can go on and on of examples of people who placed their agenda before God’s agenda and paid for it. That’s why, a group of concerned individuals are bringing together tomorrow, men and organisations who understand that its God first and others before they themselves to share the mind of God as regards their individual professional fields tomorrow, 17^th January 2017 at Platinum Hall, 7 Olufunmilola Okikiolu Street off Toyin Street by 10am. Nigeria number 1 job search portal – Jobberman will be present. Nigeria’s no 1 supplier of digital jobs – PINigeria will be available. Nigeria’s no 1 provider of internship opportunities – Sesewa will be available. Meristems Securities will be present to head hunt for openings in their company, Recruiting Manager of Procter & Gamble will also be available to shed light on cogent issues and loads of opportunities will abound for anyone ready to come out of unemployment or even change their current jobs. Come with your CV. Free CV appraisals to be done by Jobberman. To pre-register, fill your details here: http://goo.gl/m797GI

You have friends, loved ones who are in need of a paradigm shift as regards job search, let them be here. Know that, God is much more interested in you, than you can ever be interested in him. He wants to give to you, quit the trying to get!

Remember, you are unemployable because you are thinking of yourself first and not GOD!

Selah!