This is one of those posts that I am writing to myself with the hope that it will benefit you as well.
A guy at church just gave a testimony this past weekend about thriving in the middle of a recession. He went on to explain that sales in his industry are way down, but yet as he has been trusting in God, his sales are actually increasing when the rest of the industry is on the decline. It reminded me of a few important things that I know I need to remember…
- God has promised to supply all of my needs. It doesn’t matter whether it is a bear market, bull market, recession, depression, or anything else. This promise from Philippians 4:19 is not contingent on what the government is doing, the economy, or even our own ability. It is a promise from the only source in the universe that we can rest assured is going to back up what He promised.
- Trusting in God is key. It is so easy to look at our checkbooks, credit card statements, IRAs, or 401ks and get discouraged. But, God isn’t discouraged or even surprised at what is going on. He didn’t promise that we would never have challenges or that there wouldn’t be times when things looked bad. But He did say that He would never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5-6) and wants us to be encouraged in His faithfulness. My job as a Christian is to continue to trust Him regardless of whether things look good or bad.
- It is faith (trust) that pleases God. In fact, the Bible says that without faith it is IMPOSSIBLE to please Him (Hebrews 11:6). Whether I like it or not, the biggest faith tests are rarely when circumstances are going great, but are when things look bad or even impossible. The super-encouraging thing about this is that when I just keep on trusting God when things look bad, I am being very pleasing to Him!
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How are “needs” defined here? God is meeting my needs in the sense that I have a roof over my head and food on the table, but I still have a pile of student loan debt, I am getting old, the clock is ticking – and I am making zero progress in getting ahead.
If I die in debt (the student loans) and never get ahead, has God met my needs?
I was laid off from my job over a month ago. My industry, financial services, is doing horrible and I TRUST GOD with everything in me to supply all my needs. And He is faithful to do it. I’m tithing on my unemployment benefits, I’m cutting living cost and I am making it!! I know that no matter what happens, by the grace of God, I’ll be ok. Timely post. Trusting God is necessary in good times as well as tough times.
Wonderful post, thank you for sharing.
To poor boomer: Focus on the treasures of the life in the Kingdom. People die by your definition of poor all the time– they swindled it, they couldn’t get a good enough job to get ahead, they spent it all going on mission trips. Money matters not, your heart and your acts of faith in Christ Jesus do
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Wonderful post…and again, very timely. He knows what our needs are…even if we don’t. It’s comforting to hear that…and to know that.
To “poor boomer,” things may seem overwhelming with large Student Loans. I know: I’ve been paying on mine for 6 years and STILL owe $15k.
Keep Faith, pray, and realize His plan may be a little different than yours, not to mention His view on “needs.”
Great post, It easy trust God when all is going great. But it is also easy to forget about how God is providing for us in the good times as well.
Seeing some of these comments and hearing stories from other readers about their difficult financial situations, it reminds me of Abraham. How he was told he was going to be the father of many nations, but was looking at the impossibility of how that would actually happen. But even though it looked impossible, He still trusted God anyway… We have a great example in him…
This is something I keep in mind continually. Also remember … God did not give you debt, YOU gave you debt. While He’ll supply all of our needs it is in His grace He helps us out of our OWN messes while helping us learn along the way
Proverbs 3:5&6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.”
To poor boomer … Yes, if you have food and shelter, then your needs have been taken care of, even if you die in debt. Not everything you want, maybe, but certainly everything you need.
This is a really good post. Some time ago, I was talking to a friend of mine about trusting God in our respective job searches. We finally settled on the image of the almost-plane-crash in movies. The plane always levels off at the last second, right? That’s how it feels sometimes when money is tight … but as long as we’re leveled off before we crash, then we’ve been taken care of.
It’s just not easy to trust that sometimes, eh?
Also, I wanted to let you know that I received your submission for the Christian Carnival. Thanks for participating!
I know too well that this blog is true. I was in a tight spot 4 years ago, I lost a high paying job shortly after having my first child, my husband and I had just signed a new lease for our apartment. It seemed so hopeless when everything just happened. My mom urged me to trust God and remain faithful. At the same time I lost my job, we owed the KGB I mean the IRS over $10, 000 because I had lost a house that I bought when I was single and couldn’t no longer afford to keep (market was bad so I couldn’t sale for market value either and had to do a short-sale). Fast forward today, because I had lost my job, our tax return was substantial enough to pay off the debt to IRS, because I had lost my job I discovered my passion and turned it into a career. Because I had lost my job I grew closer to God. Because I had lost my job I have precious years watching my son grow up and the cute things he does that I would never see if I was a full time employee. Because I lost my job I learned that indeed God provides for all the needs that I need at the right time in my life. There is no point in worrying about debt or other things because these things do not matter anyways when we die, our soul matters when we die (did I live a good life, did I leave a good legacy for my child, was I doing right by my neighbors, how will I be remembered, did I make a difference in someone else’s life besides myself). God is an on time God and while we are waiting for him to turn things around in our lives, there is no point in being miserable. Praise him more when things are not doing well in our lives.
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