God's Principles - Part Three - Financial Health

The Word of God is full of advice on how to live a healthy life mentally, emotionally, financially, physically and spiritually (3 John 1:2). If we ferret them out of the chapters and verses, we find amazing truth by which to live our life (Proverbs 4:22).

When our thoughts, words and deeds please the Lord, even our enemies are at peace with us (Proverbs 16:7). He daily increases our blessings, and this even includes our children (Psalm 37:25, 115:14). We lack nothing that we truly need (Psalm 34:10; Deuteronomy 28:6; Philippians 4:19).

God actually gives the ability and wisdom to produce wealth to those who covenant with Him (Deuteronomy 8:18; Psalm 24:1). He yokes up with us to carry our burdens each moment of the day, because He is the only God who truly saves (Psalm 68:19).

God's blessings bring us wealth, without the painful toil that so many must endure (Proverbs 10:22). When we humble our self enough to respect, honor, obey and consult the Lord throughout the day, we reap riches and honor (Proverbs 22:4).

The secret to financial success in life is to seek God's Kingdom before our own desires, and He will give us everything we need (Matthew 6:33-34). When our ways please the Lord, He also gives us wisdom, knowledge and happiness (Ecclesiastes 2:26).

       

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for Your abundant prosperity for Your children. You bless the fruit of our labors, and our physical and financial needs. You open for us the windows of Heaven and the storehouse of Your bounty. You send rain to water our gardens, and You bless all the work of our hands (Deuteronomy 28:11-13).

As we pay attention to and obey Your precepts, we will always find fulfillment, peace, joy and richness in our life. Remind us to tithe a tenth of our income; because if we do not, we are guilty of robbing You. However, when we are faithful tithers, You open the floodgates of Heaven and pour out Your abundance of blessings on us, so that we have enough to share with those in need (Malachi 3:10).

Thought for the Day:

Financial responsibility and honoring the Lord with our whole heart, mind, soul and strength will result in His bountiful provision in our life, His protection over our resources, and His abundance in all of our endeavors.

- Malachi 3:11-12; Deuteronomy 29:9

God's Word is Sweet

As new Believers we desire the milk of the World. With a voracious appetite, we devour whole chapters, eager to read more and more about God and His plan for us.

As we mature in Christ, we get more familiar with God's Word and we start to focus on verses rather than chapters. We read a few verses, until one grabs our attention.

Then we meditate on that verse all day long. We look up similar verses when we get a chance to focus our thoughts more specifically. We chew around on the passages and slowly digest them, savoring each morsel.

We taste and see that the Lord is good (Psalm 34:8). His Word is like honey on our lips, sweeter actually than the honey comb (Psalm 19:10). God illuminates our thoughts to see the deeper meaning of the verses on which we are meditating. 

His Word is more precious and valuable to us than the finest of gold and refined silver (Psalm 12:6, 19:10, 119:103). The scriptures are sweet to our soul and healing to our bones (Proverbs 4:22, 16:24).

God's Spirit enlightens us to apply the verses to our everyday life. He gives us a chance to share the verse in conversation or on our blog or social media site that day, inspiring others to read and meditate on God's Word as well.

Our heart is glad as we meditate on God's life-giving Words. They bring life to a broken spirit and to our bones in the dessert of life (Proverbs 17:22).

In the prison of depression and a broken spirit, we cannot find anything to focus on that brings us joy; yet, when we enjoy God's Word, our face reflects the joy in our spirit and soul regardless of our circumstances (Proverbs 15:13).

Prayer:

Father God, it is easier for us to endure physical ailments than wounds to and in our soul, which break our spirit and pull the rug right out from under us (Proverbs 18:14). This depression causes physical ailments that have no real physical source. We are emotionally afflicted and needy due to the wounds within our soul.

Heal our many afflictions - physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. Help us to change our focus to the innumerable blessings you provide for us each day. Open our eyes so that we may taste and see that You are good (Psalm 109:22, 34:8). We worship You and give You praise in the good times as well as the trying events in our life. You are the source of our strength always.

Thought for the Day:

When our soul is discouraged, it breaks our will to live, our productivity, our courage and our desire to walk in God's will for our day; if we allow Him to, God will always give us a joyful heart, which is the best of medicine for troubles and trials. - Proverbs 15:13, 17:22

The Battle is the Lord's

In a war, the soldiers sometimes surrender a battle, but sometimes they actually surrender the whole war. Spiritual warfare is very similar to a physical battle.

If we surrender in a battle, we live to fight another day. If we surrender the war, we leave the outcome to a higher power. God is our Higher Power, and He desires that we completely surrender our life, love and will to Him.

Our Father knows best, and He wants only the best for us. He will never leave or forsake us, and He provides for our every need as we trust exclusively in His provision and care (Hebrews 13:5; 1 Peter 5:7).

The alternative is to fight the war from our own strength. This predictably ends in us suffering from battle fatigue with no more strategy to win the war.

Even if we surrender temporarily, with aspirations to return to the war in our own strength once we recoup, we end up right back where we are now…exhausted, discouraged and feeling overwhelmed.

We must come to the end of our self at some point in our life and totally surrender to God every thought, word and deed - led by His Spirit in everything we think, say and do.

We accomplish so much more with our remaining life than we ever did during all of the years on our own recognizance. We waste so much time when we live life our way instead of God's (Ephesians 2:20).

It is never too late to surrender, however, no matter how old we are. Sometimes, it takes us a while to learn to "let go and let God". The point is to totally surrender every battle to the Lord and we will eventually win the war as well.

Prayer:

Father remind us to trust only in You with our whole heart, not to rely on our human intuition or wisdom, to totally surrender to Your will and purpose for our life, and to allow You to direct every battle of the spiritual warfare in which we are embroiled (Proverbs 3:5-6).

We cannot trust our heart or our mind to safely lead us (Jeremiah 17:9). Only in Christ do we have half a chance of making a lasting difference in this world (Philippians 4:13). You give us Your wisdom and Your Word, directed by Your Spirit with a fail-safe battle plan every time (James 1:5; Psalm 119:105).

Thought for the Day:

True power and wisdom come from Christ in us, not from our own resources; so the wise will totally surrender to Him each moment of life and wait expectantly on Him alone. 

-  John 15:5; Psalm 46:10

Living without God's Spirit and Word

 

Imagine living in Old Testament times. No Bible, except the Pentateuch at the Temple, and no Holy Spirit abiding within our Spirit. No intimate connection through Christ with the presence of God within.

Sure, there was an occasional Christophany when Jesus appeared to an individual; but how many times did that happen? Once in a while the Holy Spirit embodied a person, such as a prophet, but the normal rank and file person had no connection with Him.

If I had no Bible and no Holy Spirit, I would be in an asylum. Emotional, mental and spiritual meltdowns would be the natural order of my day. My emotions and melancholic thoughts would dominate my life.

Bereft of God's Spirit and Word, I would drift with the tide of life and get deeper and deeper into undertows and whitewater designed by Satan to snuff out my natural life.

I barely survived like this for the first 18 years of my life; but in God's mercy, He saved me and gave me the fullest measure of His Spirit (Ephesians 3:16-19).

I weep uncontrollably at the thought of not living as the temple of the Spirit of God (Psalm 51:11; 1 Corinthians 3:16-17). The presence of God's Spirit is the earnest of our inheritance with Christ, and it assures us that we are truly Born Again (Ephesians 1:14).

How could we survive one moment of life disconnected from the life-giving flow of God's Word and the security and direction of His Spirit's presence in our life?

Thankfully, God's Spirit does guide each moment of our day with precision and comfort (Proverbs 3:5-6), leading us with His still, small voice (1 Kings 19:11-13). We can approach God's throne with complete confidence (Hebrews 4:16). He is all we ever need.

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for Your Spirit and Your Word. I do not know how people survive without Your intimate presence in their life. I do not go one moment of the day without consulting You, casting my cares on You and praying for Your blessings and a more intimate union with You.

I feel so blessed to be living in this day and time with the internet access and the speed at which we can connect to Your Word day and night. Your Word is truth and we devour it ravenously; it is sweeter than honey and the honey comb (Psalm 119:103). We can never have enough hours in the day to show our appreciation to You for all You do for us.

Thought for the Day:

Having no intimate union with the Trinity, enjoying no assurances from the promises of God's Word, abandoned and alone without the unconditional love daily showered on us by our Heavenly Father would leave us rudderless in a sea of deprivation, confusion and illusion.