“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness.”~ Lamentations 3:22-23

At our Winter Hope4Hollywood Ladies Tea: Stories of Faith, Blanca Silva shared how God granted her faith in the midst of a difficult time. “My story of faith began just after I had filed for divorce from my husband who had struggled with addiction for 20 years.  I was the single mother of two boys, 4 and 15, and had been teaching at a school I enjoyed. One morning as I walked into the school office, my principal handed me a stack of letters that I was to send home with students stating that I was being laid off along with 2,000 other teachers. At that moment all I think about was about how was I going to support my children without a job. I remember setting the letters down in front of me as I was teaching a lesson. Throughout the day I kept looking at the letters and wondering what I was going to do.

Soon after our notice had been given, one of my colleagues and I were discussing our pending unemployment. At the end of the conversation he promised to refer me to any open positions. After the summer, I received a phone call from the principal of his school offering me a long term substitute position. I kindly replied, “Yes, that would be great, but when would you like to interview me?” He answered, ”There is no need to interview you –the job is yours he has highly recommended you.” I was hired that year as a long term substitute knowing at the end of the school year I would face unemployment.  However, the last week of school the principal informed me that he had made several phone calls to allow me to keep my job for another year. He explained that although he had never done this for another teacher and it was not District approved, he was willing to fight for me to stay. A week before school started, I received miraculous news that I had been re-hired. For the next 3 years, my principal continued to intercede on my behalf and helped me to get my status restored as a permanent teacher, a status I still enjoy today.

Lamentations 3:22-23 reminds us that our God is a faithful God whose mercies are new every morning. For four years, I battled fear and uncertainty about my job stability. Every day I would face anxiety and have to fight off the lie that God was not with us and had left us. But graciously God granted me faith to believe that He was going to provide for my children and a way for us. Focusing on God’s faithfulness in the past now helps me to find faith in the uncertainties I face every day. ”

Where in your life are you feeling fearful?

How can you ask God to replace your fear with faith this week?