We call them "forced sabbaticals", those times in our lives when we're out of work involuntarily. It happens when a company scales back, or we get sick or injured off the job, or technology makes our skills and jobs obsolete, or we've been fired. How do we plan for the intangible impact of these surprises?

The forces of today's economy make "forced sabbaticals" a phase of life nearly everyone will experience some time in their career. As a result, we've put together some steps to better prepare ourselves for these surprises.Here are someways to prepareahead of time for the spiritual and emotional impact of job loss:

1. Cultivate an intimate relationship with God that includes prayer, Bible reading and Bible study. This is useful in every phase of life, but never more so than during the storms of life. These spiritual disciplines may be hard to start when things are going good, but you'll find them even more difficult to start when things are not going well.

2. Cultivate your relationship with a local church. "No man (or woman) is an island", so don't try to go it alone.Anyone who says we can be strong and mature Christians without arelationship with a local church is wrong. There's a reason God's Word reminds us to "forsake not the gathering of believers."

3. Cultivate a relationship with a small group of people who like you enough to stand by you in difficult circumstances.

4. Avoid defining yourself by what you do. Invest in people and activities outside of work.

5. Stop resting your security on your own ability to do; there may come a time when you can no longer work. God loves you just as much in those hours as He does when you are able to work.

6. Discover your gifts and passions ahead of a forced sabbatical. Most people can't afford to take time out to discover themselves when the bills are outpacing the income.

7. Talk to your family about your work situation.If things are shaky at work, tell your spouse, and then pray as a couple about what and when to alert your children to the chances of job loss.Use this as an opportunity to teach them that true security comes in the eternal nature of our relationship with God.(You may need to learn this for yourself, first, but it's a vital step in living contented lives in uncertain times.) When a layoff or job loss seems likely, sit down and discuss it as a family.

Remember, these steps can still occur even after you lose your job, but they become much harder to accomplish in the face of the increased pressures which are naturally present in those difficult times.

What about if I'm already in a forced sabbatical? Here are nine steps we recommend when you'rein the early stages of involuntary unemployment.