God's Economy

It has certainly been an interesting time in our history these past few months, culminating into a wake-up call to to people of many nations about the economy of this world. The stock market dabblers and forecasters don’t seem to have a clue what will happen by the end of each day - let alone in the long term.

I have friends who have money in the stock market and they are a bit freaked out right now. But my husband Ralph came to me the other day and said “well I looked at our stock this morning and it is doing just fine!” Here is a picture of our ‘stock’.




Some day we will inherit the cattle on a thousand hills, because my glorious and wealthy Father in heaven owns them all!!

I have been watching all the anxiety and fear in the news and on Wall Street lately and I am glad that I know that God is my source.

Does that mean good Christians will always be prosperous financially? I don’t think that is true, but we can know that as we go through hard times, He will be with us and wants us to focus on Him rather than the physical world we live in. We can believe His promises – that he is our provider, our strength, our peace, our healer, our helper, our friend, and so much more. It is when we take our eyes off Him and look back at ourselves and this world that fear and other negative emotions invade our lives.

The first chapter of Joshua is often used as an encouragement and a promise - that the Lord will be with us wherever we go. Period. But sometimes we forget that with promises and blessings, there are some things that God puts in as disclaimers – “if’s”. In verse 7, God tells Joshua to be sure not to turn from the Book of the Law - THEN he will prosper wherever he goes. Verse 8 says he should meditate in it day and night, observe and do according to it – THEN he would be prosperous and successful. God then commands Joshua to “be strong and courageous” and to remember that God is with him wherever he goes.

This whole chapter is a series of IF –THEN principles. The New Testament teaches us that since Jesus came, our sins are washed away and we have no guilt or shame. I truly believe all that when it comes to salvation and an intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit. However, at times we seem to forget that God’s principles still apply.

How many times have I claimed God’s promises, yet forgot to pay attention to the commands that God gave to Moses and Joshua. Then, when the promises don’t come to pass as quickly or in the way that I would have wanted, I get discouraged. Though it is true that When Jesus died, the barrier between us and God was destroyed and the Old Testament law was abolished, there are times when I put up my own barriers between God and myself, creating quite an obstacle course for those promises to overcome. When I allow the enemy to controls aspects of my life or when I get too busy for God, I am clogging up the conduit through which those blessings flow. We are not bound by the law anymore, but it is true that if I have not spent time with the Lord and His word, it becomes much harder to hear his voice and to be strong and courageous. Fear creeps in – then worry, then fretting, then anger, then pride, then shame – and on and on and on. Because many of the Israelites turned against God, worshipped other Gods, and forgot His commands, they were not allowed into the land that God had promised. Consequences!

Yes, we are to “be strong and of good courage.” But we don’t have to muster strength and courage from within ourselves. In these uncertain times, step back, remember that God is for you, not against you. It is times such as this that I need to look back at the triune God and ask “Where are you in this and how do you want me to help you there?” In serving and watching Him at work there are so many exciting things that happen and it helps put things in perspective. Then we can more easily see the big picture through the barriers of the immediate challenges.
I pray for God’s blessings, strength and courage for all of you who read this blog.
Patti