Okay, let me just preface this post by saying that I would be about the last person that I would ever go to for thoughts on anything financial. Why? Because I have just been totally uninterested in money. I generally don't like to think about money, talk about money, make budgets, etc., etc., etc. And it's NOT because I am super-spiritual in this area. No. I just honestly have had no interest in the subject.
For example, when David and I got married I told him that I would be happy to actually work with him doing tile, etc. (he's a carpenter/contractor), but I never wanted to do his accounting (his mom had done the accounting for his father's business). Also, a few years ago, when a friend was in the process of adopting a child, she read a short biography of George Muller. She told me how encouraged she was about the way that God provided for the orphans financially. I was actually offended by this conversation. "Who cares about the money," I thought. I was really only interested in talking about the orphans. So, be forewarned, and feel totally free to disagree with what I am going to write here...
About a year ago, something very interesting happened. God started talking to me about money. I was reading a book by Heidi Baker called Always Enough, and was challenged by the way that she and her husband, Rolland, trusted God for their daily needs. Then, God told me to read George Muller's biography, and you know what? I was totally enthralled by how God provided for the orphans financially. I was enthralled because George Muller depended on God to be who He said He was. He was George Muller's Father and He provided for Muller on a daily basis, just like a good father would. George Muller lived his life as if what God had said about taking care of our every need was really true!
In the past year, I have been thinking and praying about this quite a bit. I have come to the conclusion that God really can be trusted in the way that George Muller trusted Him. He really will meet all of our needs. And part of what that means for me is that I do not need to "plan" for my financial future. God will take care of it!!! God tells us to ask Him for our daily bread. He also tells not to store up for ourselves treasures on this earth, but to invest in the Kingdom. I am just a baby learner when it comes to discerning my true needs and what I should spend money on. David and I have always valued living simply, but let's be real here--living simply in the U.S. is still extravagant by most of the world's standards. I am committed, however, to seeking God more in this. This has freed David and I up so much to simply trust in God for what we need and give the rest away.
So, I'd be interested in what you all think and are hearing from God in regards to money. Like I said, I am just a baby learner in all of this and I really would love to be challenged by other people's thinking. Please know that I do not believe that I have it all figured out, and there may be ways that God is speaking to you a bit differently, depending on your situation. I'd love to hear about it!
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4 comments:
The kids are growing up so fast, and I loved the links you posted to homeschooling info.! Trish
Wow. How crazy is it that Karl and I have recently had the exact same discussions!!??!! Wish we lived close and could get together! I wonder how many others the Lord is leading this direction right now. Is it just a natural progression? Or is this something that the Lord is revealing to a larger group of Christians right now? I haven't the answer....just makes me curious. Hmmm..... Or maybe I'm looking too closely at it all and it's not "new" at all, but I'm just now "getting" it. :)
The Lord has recently been providing a job for my husband doing something that he has never done before but that every business we have been in (construction) has prepared him to do this. And the pay is amazingly good. All this after crying out to HIM for provision for us and our little ones. God is Good. He says before you called I answered.
Living by faith! God called my husband to pursue a new career (after loosing his job and good salary with it) and that was 10 years ago. Fast forward three years, DH finished his masters degree in Biblical counseling and felt the Lord calling him to co-found a new ministry providind sound, Biblical counsel to those in need and with out charging any fees - free. I was quite worried as we were in process of our adoption. Fast forward to today...the ministry has grown tremendously in number of lives touched and number of people who stand behind in support. Through these years we have not only brought home one but two daughters from China and have been able to purchase a new, larger home with a less than $100 increase to our morgage. My testimony is that God is faithful - and always on time! I can't say that living by faith has always been easy - but it sure has been a blessing. Our girls are learning so much in trusting God for everything. Sure, our lifestyle has had to change a bit, but we are so happy knowing that God is our provider! Thanks for this topic, many don't know how we make ends meet and we don't either - but God does and that's all we need!
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