Great is our Lord and of great power; His understanding is inexhaustible and boundless (Psalms 147:5).
Our God, the Creator of the Universe, is who we can trust. This is because He has always been present (The First and the Last - Revelation 22:13), He knows all things (Declaring…from ancient times things not yet done – Isaiah 46:10), He knows all about you (You are acquainted with all my ways – Psalms 139:3), and especially because He loves you (Christ died for us – Romans 5:8)
God has set limits and instructions before us in His Word to obey, covering many areas and intersections we encounter in life. We are called in Psalms 100 “The sheep of His pasture”, and like the picture above, guidance is needed to keep the sheep from harm. We can be encouraged to know that these limits are for our own good. The handling of our finances is one of those areas God has spoken His wisdom to us for.
Our first act of obedience is to recognize the Lord as our provider by giving to Him in tithes and offerings. By doing so He promises to “pour you out a blessing” and to “rebuke the devourer” (Malachi 3:10-11). Honoring the Lord first will mold us… “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:21). This change in our heart will also help us to be obedient in staying out of debt.
Before all of our modern instruments of debt existed, God was well aware and out of His love for us provided a warning to “Keep out of debt and owe no man anything, except to love one another…”(Romans 13:8). This is the Good Shepherd placing that fence around us, because He knows how easy it is for His sheep to become lost.
If you are in a hard place currently with debt, please click on the archives from this Financial Fitness page for tangible steps you can take to get out. Today, let’s conclude by what we can do in advance to help keep us from straying.
God’s Word tells us we will reap what we sow. If we give lots of time and thought towards things we want to buy (especially what we cannot afford) that is what we will reap when given the chance at the marketplace and in front of our computer.
For success in this area it is important to sow His Word into our thoughts. “I will meditate on Your precepts and have respect to Your ways” (Psalms 119:15). Be encouraged to know from Galatians 6:8 that “he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life”. God’s Holy Spirit will help us live the life He desires for us if we sow good seed into ourselves.
God bless you and may He show Himself greatly to you,
Paul
