There are times in our lives when we lose faith. One of those instances for me was losing my first job.
Fresh out of B-school, I was placed in one of the most prestigious companies in the world. I was part of the company’s Leadership Training Program. In the program, I had the opportunity to work across various functions of the organization across different locations. All was good and my career looked like it had started on a fast track.
On 15th September 2008, I remember reading the newspaper on the suburban train in Mumbai. The front page of the newspaper covered the collapse of Lehman Brothers. I did not know then that event would take my fast track career on to a slow track. Over the next two weeks, numerous banks and financial institutions started going bust or showing signs of stress. Within a month, I got to know that the company I was working for was also on the verge of collapse and the management was planning to exit its operations in India. By the end of the quarter, I was without a job.
The day before my last day at work, I remember crying in my room, uncertain what the future holds. Just months before, everything was going perfectly well, and suddenly everything was shattered. Finding a job amidst the biggest global financial crisis, that too for a fresher with less than a year of experience, was like finding a needle in a haystack. I lost my faith.
All of us lose faith at some point or the other in our lives. Even St. Peter, who is known as the ‘rock on which the church was built’ also had many moments where he lost his faith.
Two thousand years ago, the disciples of Jesus, who were on a boat, saw Jesus walk on water.
Peter, one of the disciples, asked, “Please let me also walk on the water and come to you.”
“Come,” said Jesus.
Without a second of doubt, Peter leaped into the water. Instead of sinking, he stood his ground. He confidently started walking on water towards Jesus. Everything was just perfect at that moment.
However, soon he realized that the pace of the wind was slightly picking up. He immediately lost his faith and started sinking into the water. He became afraid.
Jesus immediately reached out to Peter and lifted Peter -. He held Peter’s hand and asked, “Why did you doubt Peter?”
Just like St. Peter, who lost his faith when a small wind hit, I too had lost faith with the loss of my job.
However, the best part of the story is something else. The best part of the story is how Jesus immediately reached out to Peter and helped him...
In my life also something like this happened. Barely a week after I exited the company, I found another job. Today, 10 years later, I have done well in my career and continue to do so.
I know that in hindsight everything is 20/20; but when I look back at those days, I always ask myself, “Why did I ever doubt?”
Things are never going to perfect in our lives. Small winds of challenges will always creep in. We will continuously lose our faith. Even St. Peter, after that experience, disowned Jesus three times, because he was afraid of the Romans. However, as always, God will reach out and help. The fact is that it is because of God’s grace that we succeed, and not just our faith.
In life, you will lose faith, but don’t worry, God is in control.