As many of you know, I am wanting to transition from PC Repair to Biblical Natural Health coaching via New Eden’s Advanced Natural Health Practitioner Diploma. While I struggle to obtain funding (http://gf.me/u/wkvz3t ) I found an online FREE Christian women’s abundance immersion week! Replays are available at this group link here on FB, so it’s not too late to join, particularly with catchup dates on Saturday and Sunday for the late-comers or those with busy schedules. I am making lots of notes and God is dealing with stuff in my mind and heart as I take in these sessions. Will you join me? The group’s header contains the signup link for you to register.
Today’s session was on money blocks that affect Christian women in particular. Each session we are encouraged to write down a take-away and post it in the group. My take-away from today’s session was so long, that I decided to share it with my readers here, and then share it to the group. This could easily have been posted to my financial blog as well, and I may just use the WordPress reposting function to send it over there.
Perspectives and attitudes toward God’s extravagance, and toward money, are key to whether God can bless you or not. If money comes first, God can’t bless you. If lack of money comes first, God can’t bless you either.
No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
Matthew 6:24But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Matthew 6:33
You were birthed into the time and place where you live. If this landed you in pleasant places such as a first world country, you are positioned to receive blessings that should in turn bless others whose time and place are less favourable.
God won’t honour squandering or hoarding of one’s wealth. . .This was the problem with the rich young ruler in Matthew 19:16:24. He held onto his wealth rather than holding it lightly for the Lord to use instead. Money was his idol and Christ called him out on it. There is the parable of the farmer in Luke 12:15-21 who built himself new silos and Christ said that night his soul would be required of him. There is the story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-29 where again, wealth was withheld from those it could benefit most. Wealth can be a stumbling block in it’s presence as well as in it’s absence. Scripture warns us not to forget God when times are good.
Having said that, God says
Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn. Deuteronomy 25:4
For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward. 1 Timothy 5:18
We are allowed to enjoy the fruits of our labours.
Fear can keep us from entering God’s extravagance as well. In the story in Matthew 25:14-30 of the 3 servants and the talents of money the master gave them. The two that invested were rewarded, but the 3rd who buried his money out of fear, was punished. I fear the loss of what little I have. I manage it carefully, to the point where when I feel we have enough and start to give to those around me, others watching are amazed because they could never live on so little. But when I receive what to me is, over and above, I start spreading it around. Investing in the Kingdom is much easier for me than investing in the world’s money system. Having said that, God’s been hinting at me through my daughter over the past few weeks, to consider figuring out how to invest in the stock market game. A tab in my browser for Mylo is sitting there waiting for me to finally increase income generation enough to start trickle-investing (they do the “invest change up to a $1 with every purchase at the store”, not sure how that works, but they’ve made it work) My daughter was telling me about the stock market game simulator they played in school and how one team of three boys took a virtual $1000 and through a series of 3 rounds, managed to turn it into $3000. I immediately saw stress when she shared that. I am a bit of a stats junkie and fear seeing myself sitting in front of my computer all day watching numbers until I see the right mix to buy/sell. I’ve heard stories of others where this became a vice as well, so fear of that vice and fear of the massive losses I’ve seen in the various stock market crashes keeps me from trying it out.
BUT. . . Yes, I have otherwise, in my efforts to manage every penny, used the lack of a bank balance (I live in my overdraft) to control how I word what I can and can’t afford. I need to change my mental and social dialogue so that God is once again on top of the money box and not below it in my financial thinking. How we word things can stop, or start something. It can hinder, or move us forward. I personally should already know this, because I tend to rise to challenges presented to me. Too many challenges one after another wears me out and I eventually start letting them drop because it takes too much effort mentally, emotionally and physically to chase them down, but when I am healthy, I rise to challenges. If I can convince myself to go from “I can’t afford that” to “How can I afford that?”, then I will have subconsciously challenged myself to answer that question.
Where there is a will, there is a way and I am known for finding many proverbial rabbits to yank out of seemingly empty hats. Done it too many times to count and I’m positive it is not 100% me, but in large part to how God has led me. I regularly pray for wisdom, insight, foresight, and understanding to deal with stuff and confess that prayer took a hiatus over the past few years. I am resurrecting it more these days, because God answers that prayer. His Word says:
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
James 1:5-8
It is that answer to my prayer that pulls those rabbits out of seemingly empty hats.
In my need for a perspective shift that I shared about yesterday in the immersion group (see link at top of article), this is part of it. I need to return to the prayers for wisdom, insight, foresight and understanding. I need to phrase “can’t” statements into “how can I” questions.