Financial Stress

Have you ever felt that there’s not enough pay-cheque at the end of the month to cover all the menacing bills that keep showing up in your mailbox?  Although money should never play a role in determining whether we will be happy or not, or stressed or not, it seems to invade our lives more often than not.  For years, I wondered what God’s plan was when He invented money and created the need for it in order for us to eat.  So far, I’ve learned that He uses it to test our faith, to test our heart, and to cause us to learn to be unselfish by giving whether we have much or little.  

By way of illustration, I’d like to share something that happened to me that had to do with the testing of my faith and my heart.  It was probably the greatest lesson I ever learned about money so far.  I was employed, but had taken almost a year’s sick leave from my job due to problems with stress.  At that time, the term “anxiety disorder” was new and not even my doctor or a trained psychologist understood its nature or consequences, so I was unable to extend my sick leave payments.  When my sick leave pay from work ran out, I was forced to go on social assistance.  Soon, this also ran out.  I was left with no money, not even enough to pay for my rent or buy groceries.  One day I was walking down a familiar street in the city with only a couple of dollars in my pocket.  I couldn’t even afford a bus ride.  Every thought imaginable ran through my mind.  Would I have to sell everything just to eat?  Where would I go?  Would I ever be able to work and support myself again?  What kind of future did I have?  My rent was coming due in about a week or so.  

Yet, in spite of these nagging fears, I knew I had to hand everything over to the Lord and trust Him whether I was to remain in this financially strapped condition or not.  And so I handed the situation over to God at that time and basically prayed this way, No matter what happens, if I lose it all, I will still love you and serve you.  I felt an immediate sense of release that now the situation was in His capable hands.  Still, people who are desperate do desperate things.  I just couldn’t sit still and wait because I had to pay my rent, so I did something very unusual for me and very difficult, not to mention humbling:  I began calling various evangelical churches I knew of to see if they could help me. I was surprised when I was turned out cold from one of them.  I had already felt humiliated just by going to ask for assistance, and the person who “interviewed” me asked so many questions I felt as if I was in an inquest and had done something terribly wrong.  As I walked away heavy-hearted, I felt the Lord’s presence in a powerful and reassuring way.  This is what He spoke to my heart – Whenever we turn away someone in need, the Lord takes it personally and treats it as if we have turned Him away.  I learned first-hand about the following Scripture: 

Mat 25:35  For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

Mat 25:36  Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

Mat 25:37  Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

Mat 25:38  When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

Mat 25:39  Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

Mat 25:40  And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. KJV 

Another church offered me used clothing – since it was winter, they offered me a coat and boots.  This at least was something; but still not what I needed.  Another church did come through, gladly and willingly, and I had only expressed my need over the phone.  The pastor didn’t even know who I was, but he was filled with compassion and said that whatever they collected (for such situations) on Sunday he would give to me.  Finally, I went to the pastor of the church in which I attended: I told him my situation and he immediately responded, and within a couple of days came up with the rent money that I needed.  But, in the meantime my employer called to see how I was doing.  I told her my situation and that I couldn’t even pay my rent and I wondered how I’d be able to buy groceries to eat.  All she said was that she was going to see what she could do about that!  A few days later (and just in time to pay my rent), much to my surprise and relief, my regular pay-cheque from my employer arrived in the mail, and the same size cheque arrived every two weeks (no strings attached), until I was able to return to work full time.  This does not normally happen, that you get paid your regular pay-cheque when you have run out of sick pay and you can’t return to work.  So as it turned out, I didn’t need the money from my own church family (although I’ll never forget how generous they were to offer to help.)  And I’ll never forget the pastor that I talked to on the phone who didn’t even know me and offered to help!  Overall, it was one of the most humbling experiences I can remember and also the most enlightening.  Our true character shows through when it comes to money and how willing we are to part with it.  

The other lesson I learned is that when we accept our circumstances and trust God no matter what happens, He honors that and comes through.  He tests our hearts to see how true we are towards Him.  I take no credit for how God came through for me, except that I believed He loved me no matter what because He had already proved this many times before.  For one thing, He had always provided me with good jobs even though I had to wait for them.  And secondly, I know that God never lies.  If He says in His Word that He will provide, He will do just that.  

Another truth that came to me out of this situation was that once I was removed from my regular job, I began to see how my dependence on my job had changed me.  Before I even had the job, I was working various part-time jobs and applying for full-time jobs.  I had to trust God then too because if I lost one of the part-time jobs, I’d be struggling financially again.  But God came through and I was hired to work full-time and also received full benefits.  During this time where I had no more income coming in, I had to go downtown for something and I went for coffee to a favorite restaurant in a mall close to my workplace.  As I sat there, I couldn’t help but overhear some of the conversations going on around me.  People were talking about such trivial things, like what they were planning for the weekend and the party they had been to the night before.  They talked about shopping and fun sorts of things.  I suddenly realized that I used to be like that when I was working and not worrying about paying my rent – I had, in some ways, become superficial!  I realized that I had become too comfortable and trusting in the steady pay-cheque more than in the Lord’s provision.  Because my needs were being met through my job, I had stopped depending on God and I didn’t even know it, but it had affected my heart attitude towards God.  The following verse began to make sense to me:    

Mat 6:24  "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. NIV 

I realized that God is the source of my provision and not my workplace.  This was a profound revelation to me since now my livelihood was at stake.  And added to this was the stress of being unable to work due to illness.  Have you ever been in such a situation where you had to completely and totally trust God to meet your needs?  I am sure those who have would agree that this is where you grow leaps and bounds in your faith.  Many times in my life, I have had to trust God to provide for a need, and I can’t think of one time He didn’t provide.  I may have had to wait, but that didn’t change God’s perfect timing.  Through these tests of having to trust God to provide, I have learned that life isn’t all about how much money you make and all the things you can buy.  It is all about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, Jehovah Jireh (my provider).  Life with Him is an exciting adventure that stretches me and tuning in to what interests Him most brings great reward. 

Mat 6:33  But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. NIV 

So whatever situation you may be in today, please feel encouraged.  There is no magic formula for getting money.  If you are God’s child and know Him in a personal way, you are special to Him and He will provide according to the many promises in His Word.  Thank you for reading and may you enjoy all the blessings in your day.