Financial Woes: How To Make Sense of Money Issues?
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 12.8 million people are unemployed in the United States today. This sad reality testifies that we are not alone in our financial struggles. Countless people are struggling with losing their homes, car repossession, and having to sell their possessions just to pay the bills. Chances are, the repercussions of the economy’s financial crisis have manifested in your own life in one way or another. You may be wondering how to find peace in the midst of crippling financial predicaments. In the Old Testament book of Haggai, we see a situation eerily familiar to what is transpiring in our country today. So check out what these verses reveals about where God’s people should place their trust:
“Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Consider your ways! Go up to the mountains and bring wood and build the temple, that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified,” says the Lord. “You looked for much, but indeed it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why?” says the Lord of hosts. “Because of My house that is in ruins, while every one of you runs to his own house. Therefore the heavens above you withhold the dew, and the earth withholds its fruit. For I called for a drought on the land and the mountains, on the grain and the new wine and the oil, on whatever the ground brings forth, on men and livestock, and on all the labor of your hands.” –Haggai 1:7-11 (NKJV)
It is so easy to allow the pressures and luxuries of this world to capture center stage in our lives, tempting us to elevate financial security and comfort over trust in God. Yet, biblically speaking, our hope and focus should always be found in Christ. Where there is no reliance on Christ, there can be no transcendent peace. Take a moment to reexamine your own life. Are you trusting God with your finances?
Many faithful Christians might argue, “I’ve been walking faithfully, so why am I still suffering with financial hardship?” The apostle Paul states, ”For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, having the same conflict which you saw in me and now hear is in me” (Philippians 1:29). We sometimes have to suffer for what God is doing collectively for the body. How can we be an example to an unsaved world on how to deal with financial trials righteously, if we never experience it ourselves? We should strive to be godly examples to our neighbors in all areas of life, including the financial realm.
When it comes to monetary issues, God promises this to us: “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things” (Matthew 6:31-32). There are also times when we suffer financial problems because of our own mismanagement of money. Even if our financial turmoil is a ramification of our own actions, we should model our behavior after Philippians 4:6-7, which instructs, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” No matter how we arrive at our monetary difficulties, Scripture instructs us to avoid anxiety, seek God about the matter, trust in Him, thank Him for what He has already done, and ultimately allow His peace to dwell within us.