Yielding Our Finances to God’s Purposes

I will yield my financial resources to the Lord’s work.

Verse

Malachi 3:10  (NLT)

“Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!”

Mark 12:41-44 (NLT)

Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts. Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins.

Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions. For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on.”

God, you ask us to give back to you whatever you’ve already given to us.

Forgive us when we resist. Forgive us for holding on tightly to our finances.

When we are afraid to be generous, I ask that you would be our source of truth, perspective, and provision right where we are today.

Break us from the strongholds of fear and greed.

God, give us a spirit of generosity and a desire for your kingdom purposes to prevail.

Lord, may we be like the widow, and not think twice about giving you everything we have to live on.

God increase our faith and trust in you to pray this prayer with sincerity of heart.

In the Strong Name of Jesus, Amen.

I will yield my financial resources to the Lord’s work.

When it comes to money are you saver or spender? Are you a budget tracker or do you toss the receipts to the recycling bin? Do you worry about having enough money or live like it is growing on trees? Is it easy for you to be generous or do you struggle to give to those in need and tithe the full 10% of your income?

When you think of the way you approach your finances, can you pinpoint the way your habits were shaped? Did you inherit a philosophy by what you were taught or by what you caught?

I know this matter of finances might not seem like that big of a deal in light of choosing to live brave for the glory of God, but it is as foundational as every other principle we’ve considered because of what God has to say about money. He addresses generosity, stewardship, and tithing throughout the Old and New Testaments.

Money matters to God, and because of that, it ought to matter to us.

But the problem is that our approach to money is more likely shaped by our upbringing and generational experience than it is by the principles word of God.

Taking the Financial Peace University course produced and taught by Dave Ramsey helped me to pinpoint my own habits and philosophy along with providing a framework for making practical changes in my spending and saving. However, it was through an alarming and staggeringly true article that my husband shared with me, in which I found the missing puzzle piece in regards to my fears and habits.

I struggle with fear of never having enough because that was the mantra immersed in my adolescent brain. 

As a Gen Xer and child of divorce, stability and money have not gone hand in hand. When I was growing up, all I remember my dad saying was that “he hadn’t yet got the commission check” meanwhile my mom would come home with clothes from the Gap for me and my sister. We seemed to never have enough money but we didn’t lack the best brands or opportunities or vacations. Turns out my parents were racking up credit card debt that I only learned about a few years ago.

Now that I’m running my own business, I understand my father’s response to me every time I asked for something.  The beginning of the month is frightening. The end of the month, in most cases, allows me to breathe easy .  . . just enough to know that we’ll be able to pay the bills.

I’ve been at this long enough to know the pattern, but not stop the crazy cycle of fear.

In my own reasoning, I won’t ever be able to because God doesn’t ask me to reason . . . He asks me to trust Him.

He requires us to look back at His faithfulness and forward at the promise of eternity while navigating the here and now.

But that is so hard to do! Some days that dance of trust takes on a beautiful rhythm. Others days, I look like I’m doing kickboxing in a ballet class. Not so pretty!

I wonder, however, if the widow found her rhythm?

We romanticize it and think she sashayed up to the offering plate and gracefully deposited all she had. But what if she went up there kicking and screaming? What if she was bartering with God? I believe that when Jesus praises her, it’s because of her obedience. I’d like to think her countenance was equally stunning. But maybe, just maybe, her trust looked as messy as mine and yours as she yielded her heart to the One she ultimately knew was her provider.

What is your financial story? How is God about the business of transforming you in regards to how you spend, save, and give His glory?


 

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