"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Matthew 6:33
You may have heard the quote, "Where God guides He provides," but do you really believe it?
I LOVE what Deuteronomy 15:5-6 says:
"You will receive this blessing if you are careful to obey all the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today. The Lord your God will bless you as he has promised. You will lend money to many nations but will never need to borrow."
Think about that concept: never needing to borrow. When Briston and I realized in Spring 2023 that the Lord was calling us to Longview, we calculated how much it would cost to move. Moving is NOT cheap.
You have to pay for:
Rent/Mortgage + deposits/down payments
Gas to travel
Food for travel & to stock pantry/fridge
New Appliances/Furniture
Moving equipment (Boxes, Truck/Trailer, paper)
After we calculated how much we needed to save (around $5,000), we planned how much we had to save per month to reach our goal by September 2023. Up until this point, God had not told us WHEN we were to move, but we wanted to be ready for when He said go.
The Sacrifice
We had to save $1,000 a month, starting in May. This was a sacrificial goal. We couldn't eat out, go shopping, or do any extracurricular activities outside our usual routine. Dates became walks on farm road. We canceled subscriptions like Grammarly and Netflix. I couldn't get my nails done.
But we wanted to prepare ourselves financially for where God was leading us spiritually.
Proverbs 21:20 says, "The wise have wealth and luxury, but fools spend whatever they get." Personally, we would have been foolish to think God would have provided for our move if we had willingly chose to spend all our money instead of preparing for where He was leading us. He says, "if you are careful to obey all the commands of the Lord your God." This means whatever is written in the Bible is a commandment for us to obey.
Many of us are good at obeying the "spiritual" commandments: "Acknowledge God in all your ways and He will direct your paths" (Proverbs 3:6); meaning, pray before you make a decision and He will guide you. But are we good at obeying and stewarding other areas in our lives (finances, relationships, health, job responsibilities)? Solomon tells us, "Wealth gained quickly will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it" (Proverbs 13:11).
Our first priority should be on God's Kingdom, but focusing on God's Kingdom does not mean we neglect and misuse our earthly responsibilities. If anything, focusing on God's Kingdom should cause us to steward our earthly responsibilities wisely and righteously as God's Word says.
Before we can receive this blessing of never needing to borrow, we must first understand what God's Word says and walk in it.
The Blessings
At the beginning of each month, we would move money into our move fund (which was our savings account). During the months of August and September Briston received more work from his entrepreneurial endeavors and our income doubled! By this time we felt a strong pull that God wanted us to move in September.
Miraculously the last week before we moved, God blessed us financially in the following ways:
Sunday: received $15 Antique's gift card
Monday: Briston won a $500 Blackstone Grill and $50 of meat at South Arkansas Together (church event)
Tuesday: A friend sold us a dryer and washer for $250 (instead of us having to buy new ones $1,000)
Thursday: Subway lady randomly gave us 50% discount on our meal
Thursday: Grandma gave us $25 Cracker Barrel gift card
Friday: Grandpa paid for our gas $70
Saturday: received $200 wedding gift
Sunday: Aunt and Uncle paid for our lunch $20
Monday: Dad gave us $100 gas money
Wednesday: Friend paid for lunch $15
Wednesday: Lady at our church gave us $40
I truly believe all of these scenarios were God's way of blessing us for obeying where He said go and sacrificially saving for the journey. My friend, please let this testimony be an encouragement for you to not ignorantly burden yourself with bad money habits. Pray that God will help you save and wisely manage your money for HIS Kingdom. “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much" Luke 16:10. We cannot expect God to bless us with more without first learning to steward wisely what He's already given us.
What's Next?
Learn how to live on less than you make so that you can sow into Kingdom opportunities. One key way to continually live on less than you make is to do a monthly budget. A budget gives you the freedom to spend your money without burdening your future self.
Determine your financial goals based on where God is leading you. If you know He wants you to do something that costs money, start prayerfully taking small steps to save for these goals. Once He sees you stewarding your portion wisely, He will bless you with the funds and provide for the rest!
Pray about EVERYTHING. No decision is too small or big for God. When Briston and I's truck transmission went out, we didn't know what to do. Rather than leaning on our own understanding and wisdom, we sought the Lord, and in less than a week a wonderful friend offered to sell us their mini van. :) Do not try to financially figure out how you're going to pay for emergency expenses or big decisions He's leading you to, cry out to Him and let Him know your requests (Philippians 4:6-7).
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