Obedience in Good Works

Obedience is better than sacrifice…

(1 Samuel 15:22)

If you really know me, you know that I profess the Holy Spirit’s grace and mercy by speaking favor over my life. By the instruction of David Frazier, I wave my hand over my head whenever I say the word FAVOR and declare that I believe all that His Word says about me. So when things happen in my life that I do not understand, I know that in the spirit, the experience is for my good. And that faith is what keeps me sane as my family enters a new season and begins a new journey.

When I first learned that we were re-locating again for my husband’s career, my first response was what? My second response…now?  All I could think about were the efforts exhausted during the past three years to become a part of the community. As I tried to reconcile the enormity of a move, everything around me kept reminding me that obedience is better than sacrifice. And that faith, knowing that humble submission to the Father’s will, is greater than any personal sacrifice that I have to make as my family enters this new season and begins our new journey.

When I finally settled down to examine how this change aligned with His Word spoken over my life, He revealed that none of this is a surprise, exposing the rams that He had already positioned for this moment: the teams and infrastructure in place that keep us connected to clients, regardless of physical location; the location of our new home that puts me less than thirty minutes away from a major international airport; and my favorite, the loyalty points that have already been accumulated that can be used to visit the office during the transition months. And that faith, seeing small examples of favor in my life, is what allows me to walk with bolder confidence that this is working for our good as my family enters this new season and begins our new journey.

When I opened my eyes and my heart to see the possibilities in our new community, I realized that I am in a fertile land to expand the purposed work as advocates of educating young people about the 21st century realities of manufacturing and other STEM related careers. I know that I am exactly where I am supposed to be for a time such as this. And that faith, knowing that grace and mercy came before me, is the best blessing of all as my family enters this new season and begins our new journey.

Waving my hand over my head, I speak FAVOR over my life and over my family’s life in our new home. This move is not what I planned, yet, I know that it is for the good of my purposed work. Not my will, but Thy Will be done, thus I submit: obedience is better than sacrifice. If you would like to share your experiences about re-locating while building a business, or being obedient to unplanned events in your good works, let us know by commenting or sending an email to latanyua.robinson@gmail.com. If you like this post and want to catch up on some of the previous discussions, please visit the full Purposed Work blog at http://ltr-latrobe-mfg.blogspot.com/.

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Numbers of Good Works

…You have given him dominion over the good works of your hands…

(Psalm 8:6)

The job numbers were announced this week. In August 2013, 169,000 total jobs were added and unemployment fell to 7.3%. Specific to manufacturing, the Institute for Supply Management reported the fastest factory expansion index rate since June 2011. It sounded like positive news, until I saw this graph, illustrating that 6 million manufacturing jobs were lost in the United States between 2000 and 2009:

 

There is a lot of talk of a resurgence in manufacturing, but is it realistic to think that the US can return to pre-2000 employment numbers in industrial manufacturing?
 

As I pondered about the return of manufacturing jobs, the first thought that came to mind: with man, this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible. I thought of the story of Peter and his efforts to catch fish, resulting in literally nothing for hours. But with one touch, suddenly a divine intervention of time, place, and a mass of fish, allowed Peter to exercise his faith and obedience, by putting down his net, and receiving his reward for his service. If God performed that miracle for fishermen, He can do the same for manufacturing.

I live in the Energy Capital of the world. Pre-2000, one of primary deterrents of operating an industrial manufacturing factory was energy costs. Fast forward to 2012, and this region has started to gear up its construction efforts to produce more shale gas, natural gas, or heavy oil into usable products. The petrochemical industry in this area is booming and I can see the positive trends falling over into other areas of manufacturing: steelmakers, pipe and tube manufacturers, concrete accessories, and glass manufacturers. In fact, a recent IHS study confirms that manufacturing related to producing unconventional oil and gas will support over 500k jobs (or 4.2% of all manufacturing jobs) by 2025. To read the entire study, visit http://www.ihs.com/info/ecc/a/americas-new-energy-future-report-vol-3.aspx.

With the 500k jobs forecasted to produce oil and natural gas, there is still the matter of where will the remaining 5.5 million job derive. To be honest, many jobs will not come back. A significant portion of the jobs losses in the United States were due to productivity improvements in manufacturing. Larger companies who have invested in automation and robots are able to do more with less, freeing up resources to focus on more value-added activities like research and development. The goal is to innovate the next generation of industrial goods and services needed by the global economy. On the other hand, this effort to innovate is also in process locally, among smaller companies and communities.

I began this post questioning whether or not the United States could ever return to pre-2000 employment numbers in industrial manufacturing. Six million jobs is a large gap to close. As believers, we have to place our faith in The One who has dominion over the good works of our hands. We have to invest our efforts, time, and talent until we are commanded to cast down our nets to receive work that He has purposed for us to do. Feel free to comment about your thoughts on the return of manufacturing jobs, or, send me an email at latanyua.robinson@gmail.com. If you like this post and want to catch up on some of my previous discussions, please visit the full Purposed Work blog at http://ltr-latrobe-mfg.blogspot.com/.