Money Is Not Our Provider
I learned a long time ago that a paycheck is not our provider; GOD is our Provider. God gives us what we need and He only asks us to do 2 things with our money: 1- give generously and 2- steward what we have well.
Pat and I had to tear down the idol of money a long time ago. It jerked us around and literally controlled our emotions. We felt happy when we had a lot and fearful when we had too little. It made us work harder and harder and all the while we didn’t see that we were actually becoming SLAVES to something that never provided “enough.” Money, paying bills, and obsessing over our salary became the thing that we were living for rather than trusting God to provide.
When our eyes are on money, we are not able to fully see the call that God has on our lives. We tend to think that we are on this earth to “make a living” rather than allowing Jesus to live through us to be a blessing to others. We are too afraid to let go of the fist full of dollars and take the hand of Jesus and follow Him. Jesus may or may not lead us to earthly wealth. Why? Because His goal is to show us how to store up treasures in heaven. He wants to teach us how to have the peace and security that GOD provides instead of chasing after the material things that money provides.
What I am talking about here is learning how to live in the spirit instead of living for the desires of the flesh. It’s not an easy transition for most because we have been trained to trust only what our eyes see. When we see the house, the car, the vacations, and the restaurants we tend to hear our flesh cry out: HAPPY! CONTENT!! LIVING THE GOOD LIFE!! But when all of those things crumble and fall away, our flesh cries out: FEAR! MISERABLE! UNCONTENT! WHY HAVE YOU ALLOWED THIS TO HAPPEN TO ME, GOD?!
There is a better way...a more freeing way to live. We can live in the spirit. What I mean by that is looking to God the Father, Jesus, and Holy Spirit to be our everything. We can close our eyes to the world for a few moments and open our hearts to the Word of God and trust His promises over our fears. This may mean our circumstances as we know them get a little “scary”...I mean, come on! It’s scary to get out of the boat when the waves are crashing all around us! But Jesus wants to show us the miracle of how to walk on water and allow Holy Spirit to carry us above the crashing circumstances. When our eyes are focused on Jesus, He helps us do the impossible. He shows us how to trust Him and live a life of adventure and purpose. After walking with Him day after day, we begin to see that money can never give to us the security that Jesus gives. Jesus offers relationship and peace. He gives us exactly what we need, when we need it.
If you are struggling with trusting God to be your provider, then I want to encourage you to spend time with Him. Talk to Him and ask Him to show you a better way to live rather than being a slave to a paycheck. Ask Him to show you where He wants you to work so you are fulfilling the plans HE has for you. It’s not that money is a bad thing...it just can’t be our goal in life and take the place of God.
Matthew 6:33: “Seek first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added unto you.”
Malachi 3: Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.
Ecclesiastes 5:10 Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless.
