When God Says Write: How One Engineer's Layoff Became a Promise Fulfilled

Janine Prokop had a perfectly logical reason to ignore God's call for two decades: she wasn't a writer.

Sure, she could craft a sharp email or a compelling LinkedIn post. But a book? That required a different skill set entirely—one she was certain she didn't possess. So when God first told her to write during a youth conference in 2000, she started with enthusiasm, then let the project gather dust.

"I know this is from God because I would have never come up with this on my own," Janine says. "I'm not even hardly a reader. This is nothing I ever desired."

For twenty-six years, she built an impressive career in semiconductor manufacturing, leading project management teams at Motorola, Freescale, and NXP. She raised children, ran youth ministry programs, opened her home to foster teens. Every time she felt restless about her career path, she heard the same response: Finish the book.

Then in December 2025, a new CEO arrived with a different philosophy about central organizations. Janine's boss was let go. Six months later, she was too.

The Anxiety That Preceded the Peace

Before the layoff, Janine was drowning in anxiety. "I was thinking, 'I cannot stay at this company with this CEO. I don't believe in his ethics,'" she recalls. "But I'm going to be homeless because I've been the primary breadwinner."

When the inevitable severance came, she did what any disciplined professional would do: she signed up for the job transition package and started networking. She interviewed with what she thought was a Christian-backed company—a perfect fit. It didn't come through.

That's when everything shifted.

"As I'm sitting there praying, God's like, 'You are not going to work for six to seven months until this book is done. So don't even worry about looking for jobs.'"

The stress of job hunting evaporated. Her husband, who hadn't been working consistently for three years, suddenly landed several significant projects. The bills got paid. And Janine started every morning the way she'd always meant to but never quite managed: with prayer, scripture, and a walk with her dogs to listen for God's voice.

I think I have more peace right now than I've ever had in my life. And this should be the time I'm the most stressed out.

From Command to Promise

For two decades, Janine believed she was being disobedient. God had commanded her to write a book, and she kept failing to follow through. The guilt weighed heavy.

Then, a few weeks into unemployment, everything changed during prayer.

"He said, 'That was a promise, not a command. The promise was you will write a book, and from that book, the blessings will flow for others as well as for you.'"

The reframe was seismic. Not a task she was failing at—a promise God was keeping. Not her inadequacy on display—His faithfulness in motion.

And the voices of self-doubt? God had an answer for those too.

"I'm sitting there thinking, 'I'm not a writer.' And He's like, 'Yeah, you are. You write good emails. You write good LinkedIn posts. You are a writer, you just don't see it.'"

The Book That Won't Be Sucky

Janine's book is aimed at young women starting over—those navigating career pivots, broken relationships, or the aftermath of their own bad choices. It weaves lessons from her industrial engineering career with insights from youth ministry, foster care, and decades of learning to integrate faith with professional life.

The working title? Running Fast in Tight Pants—because that's how life feels most days. Though she's still discerning whether that's the final name.

She writes about the $10,000 she prayed for—and received the weekend after she and her husband started tithing. She writes about the $400,000 in stock options she forfeited to stay home and raise her daughters. ("God doesn't trust me with big money," she jokes, "but I had less gray hair than everyone else, so that was good.")

And she writes about the deeper revelations that come when you read scripture in chunks instead of isolated verses—like realizing your body as a temple isn't just about health, but about being a place where worship happens internally and outreach happens externally.

If every single Christian was actually acting like a temple, the earth would be filled with God's glory. Kingdom on earth. You push the evil into the abyss.

Some days, she looks at her drafts and thinks, "This stuff is crap." God's response? "It's my book, and I will not write a sucky book, so stop worrying about it."

The Practical Path Forward

Janine's daily rhythm now centers her faith in ways her corporate schedule never allowed. She starts each morning with scripture and prayer, then takes her dogs for a walk—continuing to pray and listen for what God wants her to write that day.

She and her husband also serve as foster parents, specializing in teens and preteens who've been stuck in the system too long without progress. With her project manager instincts, she drives accountability: Why hasn't this child been reunified? Why can't you approve this family member? Why isn't there an IEP in place?

"That's my Christian thing every day," she says. "How do you help these children?"

The book remains her primary assignment. She's down to the last handful of topics on her list—chapters she's been putting off since 2019 because she didn't know how to tie them back to God. Now, when she gets stuck, she sits on it and prays. Eventually, the connection comes.

"God told me, 'Don't worry about it. I will send you the right people at the right time to help you pull this over the finish line. Your job is to get the raw content out.'"

The Peace of Finally Saying Yes

Janine spent years wishing she could do something more meaningful than manage semiconductor projects. Every time, the answer was the same: Finish the book.

Now, with no paycheck and no job prospects on the horizon, she's finally doing it—and experiencing peace she didn't know was possible.

"Now I understand what it means to rest in God," she says.

A friend reminded her recently: even if only one person reads the book and it changes their life, that's what matters. She did what she was called to do.

But Janine believes the reach will be wider. She's worked with teams in China and India who told her she was the best boss they ever had. She thinks God wants to reach their hearts through her words—people who've heard about God but haven't experienced Him at a core level.

The book isn't finished yet. The title isn't final. The research and editing and publishing still loom ahead. But Janine is no longer running from the calling. She's walking into it, one morning prayer at a time.

Your job is to get the raw content out. I will send you the right people at the right time.

Twenty-six years ago, God made a promise. A layoff finally gave Janine the time to see it fulfilled. And for the first time in her life, she's learning what it means to rest in the One who keeps His word.