Hebrews 13:5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
A popular R&B group called the O’Jays released a song in 1973 called For the Love of Money. It was very popular and remains so after all these years…why….because we humans still have issues with money. Bernie Madoff swindled hundreds of people out of it, people are mad at our US president because of the lack of it, banks got greedy and tried to manipulate it and everyone wants more of it…..Money!
Sure…we need money to live on….and money has its place in our lives but it’s not #1. There are so many scripture verses on money and for there to be so many….I think God is trying to tell us something. He already knew money was going to be an issue for all generations so He made sure to give us lots of information about it.
Personally….I have never had a lot of money and… I use to want to be rich…..don’t miss this point…..USE TO. My wanting money stemmed from not having enough of it and striving to make enough to live on. Then because of societies promotion of things in our culture (cars, clothes, jewelry, etc.)….I wanted it for more and better stuff.
1 Timothy 6:7-10 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9 Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
I’m not ashamed to admit this information about myself because it is the truth and I’m in a better place mentally about it now. The problem does have to do with the mind and how we think about money. Does money have control over our thoughts?…..Something to think about.
God has and is still teaching me about money. He is teaching me to trust Him for all my daily needs. When I look back over all the times I was at a brick wall with money….the Lord helped me out of each and every situation……and some of them were very very serious. Hey….I’m not gonna tell ya’ all me biz-ness now! (Smile here).
I think about Psalms 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing. And also Philippians 4:19 And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. At the time I didn’t see this because He had answered the need in a different way than I expected…..but now when I look back…the needs were always met.
There was also the many miraculous ways God answered a prayer and I got a large sum of money to meet the need or the Lord shifted paper work around to get what He wanted me to have.
I can tell you this…..I’ve been plus size since I was 19 years old and I’m 59 now. I was thin for 5 years because I lost the weight myself but…….I have never starved and I’ve got the weight to prove it! LOL
Now our economy is not the greatest right now and many people are suffering. I’m not making light of that because I know how serious it is. But what I would like to say here is to put your trust in the Lord when it come to your financial situation because from my personal experience the Lord was and is my ONLY source of help I look to…to supply my need. 1 Peter 5:7 Look this up…you need it today.
Financial stress can cause you to not wanna eat( well not in my case..Smile) or it can keep you up all night with your mind running…..thinking….what will I do? Stop this thinking right now and put your mind on, your eyes on and your trust in the Lord….and then wait…..wait on Him. Now that doesn’t mean you don’t go out looking for a job or if you have no food you just sit there……but do what you have to do and trust that God will direct you… in whose name?…..yes….in the name of Jesus! There is power in that name…Power.
If you are rich reading this blog….you know this blog can still help you. You say how? Please donate to a food pantry today…..your church or a local church may have one. The pantries are on overload trying to help families who are having a difficult time right now. This can help you be a blessing.
My thoughts today about money is….I trust God for what He has given me to live on today and I give Him thanks every single day for His provisions for me. My hope and trust is in the Lord to provide for me for tomorrow. I know that He will do this because the bible tells me He will and God’s track record with me in the past is 100%. I’m thankful for all those lean times because in looking back I can see all the hundreds of miracles God did for me and this has increased my faith in His ability to provide for me.
For families who are struggling…..I ‘m praying for you…..please know that God is concerned about you. The bible is full of promises in the area of God providing for you. This is no time to be mad at God. It’s a time to seek Him and trust Him. God bless you!!
Message for today: Philippians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Nov 07, 2011 @ 12:42:10
How right you are! Whether we have abundance or very little, we need to look to the Lord and trust Him. What a good testimony you gave of God’s faithfulness in times of need! And as you said, those who have much need this lesson also. The rich in this world need to remember that it is God who gives power to get wealth, and so these need to use it as God guides and be generous givers as God is. (You mentioned giving to food pantries, and I think also of homeless shelters.) Thanks for this “right-on” blog.
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Nov 07, 2011 @ 14:38:22
Please add homeless shelters to the list and there as so many area’s a person of means can bless others. Our world is facing stuff I’ve dealt with my whole life. I’m still here and trust God for all my support. This is the Key of surviving without lossing your mind. Lack of money can make you do that. Put God first and He will have your back!
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Oct 26, 2011 @ 18:08:11
Thankyou and bless you for sharing! Me and my hubby have learned and are still learning a very very hard lesson about money – early in our walk with the Lord about 6 years ago (we got saved in 2000) we were at a fellowship that were preaching the name it and claim it message and how God wants us to be financially prosperous and have the best etc etc, there was so much competition, favouritism and no love, compassion or real care!! We were sucked into it all because of the spiritual control and manipulation and we ended up in huge debt because of it but we have forgiven them and God moved us out 2 years ago and He sent us 400 miles away from where we were living and come from. He has been teaching us to live by Him and Him alone, healing our hearts and showing us how much He loves us. But a very hard lesson of which we are still working through the huge debt but He has never let us down even when we have been short of £2000 each month!! The biggest lesson I have learned is that Gods love is priceless and no material thing compares to it, He is the pearl of great price but so worth it!!
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Oct 26, 2011 @ 20:51:08
Wow…what a testimony. Thank you for sharing it. I pray the Lord blesses you and your husband and helps you get to a better place financially. (IJN) Amen!
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Oct 07, 2011 @ 13:42:40
Thanks this is very well written and I totally agree with it! Thanks for sharing. God truly provides and we must have faith that he will. I went through a bad patch and was unemployed but God was always there for me. Thanks for your great blogs and keep up the good work!
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Oct 11, 2011 @ 16:10:00
ACW I so appreciated your comment today. I am not a writer and I’m amazed God is helping me do this. I told my husband that someone said one of my blogs was well written and he said…see I told you you can do it.
God sure can keep us through unemployment! Somebody needs to read that today! Praise the Lord! God is good…all….the time!
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