Financial Wisdom...Is Jesus Enough?
July 26, 2012
I prayed for the Lord to order my steps this morning and we are out and about by 8:30 and already He has blessed me tremendously. The Lord led me to Panera this morning where I met a Pastor and a missionary preparing for a mission trip to Africa next January. The pastor happens to be from Fair Play, which is right in my backyard. What a small world! When I asked him how I could pray for him, he said this, "Please pray for the preparation and hard work that goes into this trip that He has called us to. And for my church body." The account I was going to call on this morning, Lollis Fabricators in Anderson, was also at Panera. I had no plans to go to Panera this morning. I prayed and the Lord spoke to me to come here. The guy I saw from Lollis recently had a motorcycle accident and could have benefitted from an accident plan. He shared his story and it blessed me and I am excited about being able to help him in the future. In less than an hour of the beginning of my prayer time, the Lord has offered multiple spiritual blessings that are far richer than anything material. I thought the experiences this morning were even more affirmed by Him as He led me to His word, in Proverbs 10:22 scripture says "The blessings of the Lord makes one rich and He adds no sorrow with it". You see, at this time in our lives, Jon and I are really seeking the Lord first more than ever. Our financial situation does not seem real fair but all we can do is depend on the Lord. Our confidence and belief in the Lord's blessings as we obey His call on our lives to continue on this journey continues to bring forth many spiritual blessings that dissolve our own desires to have more stuff and money. Our prayers are more about asking the Lord for His specific direction and design for our life, rather than a promotion or a raise or recognition or applause. "That He Become greater, and I become less" - that scripture in the book of John is THE TRUTH and THE God dependent relationship that we are called to. In Luke, 1:37, the Lord promises that "Nothing in the word of God can fail". The Lord is leading us to do something different with our lives and Phillipians 4:19 promises (His Word - can't fail) us that He will "supply all your need according to His riches in Christ Jesus". PEOPLE - this is SO key!! The Lord shows us that what He knows we 'need' supercedes what our flesh and the patterns of this world make us believe we need. Is Jesus enough? When you start to depend on the Lord to supply these needs and He calls you to a different life or a different path or a different job, Jesus and His Word have to be enough! Psalm 34:10 says, "Those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing". My life since I left my career paycheck is a testament to this. My husband's spiritual growth and leadership in our family is an even bigger testament to this. The Lord has continually exposed to us how different what we believe we "need" versus what the Lord's authority and design for our "needs" really actually is. Lord, I THANK you for sustaining us all this time. I THANK you for using others to help meet our basic needs. I PRAISE you for what you are doing in our lives that is about YOU and furthering YOUR Kingdom - which is THE ONLY eternal reward and the ONLY riches that matter. Thank you Lord for showing Jon and I how to better manage our finances. Thank you for the wisdom in teaching us how to cut back expenses so that we can do the work that You have called us to. Open our eyes to the other work and opportunities that you have for us. More than anything, empower us and strengthen us by Your Word to grow in our belief that our relationship with You is enough and being disciples for you to show people the true joy and peace of God that only come from You. Thank you for teaching us how to give to others and who qualifies for that giving so that You are glorified. Lord provide us resources that will continue to teach us how to save, spend, invest, and better organize our money. More than anything, build our hearts so that each day Jesus is always enough.
I prayed for the Lord to order my steps this morning and we are out and about by 8:30 and already He has blessed me tremendously. The Lord led me to Panera this morning where I met a Pastor and a missionary preparing for a mission trip to Africa next January. The pastor happens to be from Fair Play, which is right in my backyard. What a small world! When I asked him how I could pray for him, he said this, "Please pray for the preparation and hard work that goes into this trip that He has called us to. And for my church body." The account I was going to call on this morning, Lollis Fabricators in Anderson, was also at Panera. I had no plans to go to Panera this morning. I prayed and the Lord spoke to me to come here. The guy I saw from Lollis recently had a motorcycle accident and could have benefitted from an accident plan. He shared his story and it blessed me and I am excited about being able to help him in the future. In less than an hour of the beginning of my prayer time, the Lord has offered multiple spiritual blessings that are far richer than anything material. I thought the experiences this morning were even more affirmed by Him as He led me to His word, in Proverbs 10:22 scripture says "The blessings of the Lord makes one rich and He adds no sorrow with it". You see, at this time in our lives, Jon and I are really seeking the Lord first more than ever. Our financial situation does not seem real fair but all we can do is depend on the Lord. Our confidence and belief in the Lord's blessings as we obey His call on our lives to continue on this journey continues to bring forth many spiritual blessings that dissolve our own desires to have more stuff and money. Our prayers are more about asking the Lord for His specific direction and design for our life, rather than a promotion or a raise or recognition or applause. "That He Become greater, and I become less" - that scripture in the book of John is THE TRUTH and THE God dependent relationship that we are called to. In Luke, 1:37, the Lord promises that "Nothing in the word of God can fail". The Lord is leading us to do something different with our lives and Phillipians 4:19 promises (His Word - can't fail) us that He will "supply all your need according to His riches in Christ Jesus". PEOPLE - this is SO key!! The Lord shows us that what He knows we 'need' supercedes what our flesh and the patterns of this world make us believe we need. Is Jesus enough? When you start to depend on the Lord to supply these needs and He calls you to a different life or a different path or a different job, Jesus and His Word have to be enough! Psalm 34:10 says, "Those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing". My life since I left my career paycheck is a testament to this. My husband's spiritual growth and leadership in our family is an even bigger testament to this. The Lord has continually exposed to us how different what we believe we "need" versus what the Lord's authority and design for our "needs" really actually is. Lord, I THANK you for sustaining us all this time. I THANK you for using others to help meet our basic needs. I PRAISE you for what you are doing in our lives that is about YOU and furthering YOUR Kingdom - which is THE ONLY eternal reward and the ONLY riches that matter. Thank you Lord for showing Jon and I how to better manage our finances. Thank you for the wisdom in teaching us how to cut back expenses so that we can do the work that You have called us to. Open our eyes to the other work and opportunities that you have for us. More than anything, empower us and strengthen us by Your Word to grow in our belief that our relationship with You is enough and being disciples for you to show people the true joy and peace of God that only come from You. Thank you for teaching us how to give to others and who qualifies for that giving so that You are glorified. Lord provide us resources that will continue to teach us how to save, spend, invest, and better organize our money. More than anything, build our hearts so that each day Jesus is always enough.
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