‘…your heavenly Father already knows all your needs.’ Matthew 6:32 NLT
Donna Savage writes: ‘In my husband’s first years as a pastor our mortgage payment gobbled up half his income… I learned to replace panic with peace by praying for: Clarity. Money is linked to our self–esteem. It can trigger feelings of shame, fear, pride, and anger. But “understanding [God’s] Word brings light to the minds of ordinary people.” (Psalms 119:130 CEV) Creativity. If you want more money, you must earn more or spend less. We serve a creative God, and He rewards those who “…diligently seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6 NKJV) Ask Him to show you how to increase your income. Connections. Kids are familiar with connect–the–dot puzzles, where you join a random collection of dots to produce an image you’d otherwise miss. It’s all about the right connections, and God can send the right people into your life with answers to your money problems. Contentment. Just like earthquakes expose structural weaknesses in buildings, financial pressure exposes our spiritual weakness. Paul said, “I have learned the secret of being content.” (Philippians 4:12 NIV) Key phrase: I have learned. Hardship enrols us all in a basic contentment course, but we don’t all get the same homework. Some of us learn through financial hardship and proving God’s faithfulness for ourselves.’ Savage continues: ‘I’ve given God an “I can’t do this” ultimatum more than once… I’ve also celebrated the adventure of moment–by–moment dependence on His resources. I’ve proved God’s faithfulness in my prayers and in my pantry, and it’s never limited by my bank balance.’
SoulFood: Neh 11–13, Mark 14:1–11, Ps 78:65–72, Prov 24:11–14
The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright 2024
