Psalm 18:2
The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust;
Prayers for Prosperity? YES!
Did you know that the Bible talks more about money than it does about sex? If you have a “right relationship” with God, you recognize that He is the provider of all things - that means all circumstances, all events and all provisions. Nothing happens by accident. Not sickness, not sadness, not jobs. When things get "bad" it occurred to me, this is when God is asking us to draw closer to Him and depend on Him more. You don't think He put us on this planet without realizing that we were going to need things do you? God has it all in control. And it sure is a good thing He does, because looking at my life right now, it's pretty obvious that I surely do NOT.
First Step: Begin changing my attitude toward God and my relationship with money.
God’s the one in control of your life. He has been since before you were made in your mother’s womb. He knows your future in every respect, and every detail is under his sovereign control and care. And that means that my future and your future is not up to me to make it happen, it’s God who will make it happen. Look at the two verses from Proverbs “In his heart a man plans his course but the Lord determines his steps” (16:9) “Many are the plans in a man’s heart but it the Lord's purpose that prevails”. (19:21) It’s God who decides what happens in your life and mine, he is the one who is running the show.
I have ONE MORE paycheck coming... and then what...?
We will probably never know the reasons why some things happen, but God does, and has good reasons for things happening. It might be that someone’s job would cost them their faith, or dragged them away from their family. That has certainly happened to more than one person.
See, if we live wanting us to be in control – which we all do to some extent, and then I lose my job, or my house, or health or whatever, then it’s tempting not to trust God. We can be tempted to be angry at God, or think that he has lost control, or that he doesn’t know what he is doing, or that he’s not even there!
But these passages and many others are saying that God is in control, and that is something that Christians should take great comfort from. That we don’t have to fret or worry about our work or our future. That God has done what he has done for a reason and that he knows what he is doing, and he loves us and has our best interests at heart. And therefore there is no need for me to worry about my life and future as if I’m in control. There’s no need for me worry about my mortgage or my job and whether I’ll get it all together before I retire. God is good. He knows what we need, and he will provide for us.
Here are a couple of great quotes from Jesus in Matthew’s gospel. Matthew 10 “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” (10:29-30) Jesus is saying that he does all the intricate details of our lives and has us in his loving hands. Matthew 6 , from the sermon on the mount: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?... Who of you by worrying [or planning] can add a single hour to his life?... So do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (6:29-33 parts)
We can stop trying to look after ourselves and our lives and futures when it’s at the expense of living for his kingdom and at the expense of being godly. If we put God first, if we seek His kingdom, he will look after the rest – our future, our work, whatever it is that we need. The huge question for us is: Do you believe that? Do you really believe that?
