It just dawned on me the other day that all year we have been writing about what to do with your money and being a good steward, which is a good thing. But!!! What if you don’t have any money to put in the bank? What if you are experiencing your utilities being cut off? What if your unemployment compensation is running out and you have no other source of income? What if your rent or mortgage has gone up and you don’t have the extra money? What if you’ve lost your job and are in your 50’s? What if your retirement fund went out the window last year? What if your husband has left you and the kids high and dry? What if you’re in debt so bad, you feel as though you are drowning. What if you are now standing in food bank lines in order to feed your family? What if, what if, WHAT IF???? What if you are beginning to think that God doesn’t love you? What if you feel He cares for others more than you? What if…you feel like giving up on the world and God. What if you see no way out? What if?
The world economy is experiencing some very trying times and it has affected just about everyone in someone way or another. My 17 year old has even seen a big decline in her babysitting jobs the past few months. She was booked almost every weekend with at least one job, but most weekends she had two. Now if she gets two gigs a month she is doing good. People are not going out as much as they used to and therefore they don’t need babysitters.
Going to the movies which is one of the great American pastimes cost a family of four around $30.00 just to get into the movie. And that price is for a matinee and searching for a good price, because depending on the movie house it could be almost $40.00. And that is without purchasing anything to eat. Times are tight all around and it’s hard to watch a TV program or read articles on how to manage your money when there is none to manage. So, today I would like to spend a few minutes trying to encourage you if you are finding yourself in that place.
Hard times come basically in two ways. Our own poor decisions or they just happen. Some of us are in financial trouble because of things we did that have put us there. Not paying our bills when we had the money, refinancing our homes to get extra money and buying things we really didn’t need, but just wanted. Using credit cards as if they were free money, with little regard to the fact that we would have to pay the bills eventually. Not living within our means, never saving and living from paycheck-to-paycheck because we were wasteful. I myself have been guilty of many poor decisions in my life when it came to my finances. I often think about all the money I have wasted over the years (and not having anything to show for it) and what I would have now if I had saved and put money into an IRA account for myself.
There are also other ways we get ourselves into trouble, and that’s not being obedient to God’s Word or waiting on Him. But then things just happen that we have no control over and we did nothing to bring these hard times into our lives. And sometimes that is the hardest scenario to withstand. But nonetheless, we must.
At age 39 I found myself, pregnant and alone. I was a baby Christian at the time and really didn’t know God that well. I knew of Him, but I didn’t know Him and His ways. So, when I found myself in that predicament, I didn’t think He would help me. But He proved me wrong. I could no longer do my job, (assistant manager at a retail store) because of the long hours and I had a high risk pregnancy. I’m going to have to give you the condensed “Readers Digest” version. I did get another job, making half of what I was making in retail, was sick and hospitalized off and on (if I didn’t work, I didn’t get paid) had a preterm baby, lost that job had to go on welfare couldn’t pay my rent and was facing eviction. Now these were all consequences of my sin. But God had asked me to trust Him and not get an abortion, and I had agreed. But trust me when I tell you, it looked as though He had abandoned me, most days.
Just when I had resigned to the possibility of going into a shelter, a miracle happened. I received a phone call concerning an apartment through the HUD program and I hadn’t even signed up for it. My sister had been on new job for only 2 weeks and an opportunity opened up where I qualified for an apartment that I would be able to afford. I had to sign everything without seeing the apartment, and within a few weeks I was moving into this amazingly beautiful apartment. My 17 year old was 4 months old at the time and we lived there for 12 years. I was able to homeschool her and only work part-time and still pay my rent and other bills.
After leaving that apartment to move into one that was better suited for homeschooling and much larger, my landlady stopped paying her mortgage and she lost our home to a Sheriff Sale. She continued to collect my rent without telling me what was going on. And I found myself in a desperate situation of having no place to live. Now what happened here was not my fault and I hadn’t done anything for me to lose my home, since my rent was paid faithfully every month. But even so, I had to move in with a young couple from my church for several months and then with my oldest daughter. I was displaced for a little over a year and a half. It was not fun being in my 50’s and living with others and losing all that I had. But at the end of those long 18 months, I was blessed to move into a house that had just been completely renovated. Everything was new and I even have a Jacuzzi bathtub! I’ve been here for 3 ½ years.
The point I am trying to make is that God is true to His Word. And no matter what you are going through He has not forsaken you, even if it is your fault. God had His reasons as to why when it wasn’t my fault I had to endure the hardship that I did. I found myself living in a place that was very depressing and wondering why God? Why? But of course hindsight is 20/20 and He used that time in my life to burn off the dross, and grow more in His ways. I got to see both ends of the spectrum that Paul talks about in Philippians 4:12 (NIV) when he tells us how he learned the secret to being content in having and in not having, and that we can endure all things through Christ the Messiah.
Hard times do come in life, they are part of the trials and tribulations the Messiah warns us we will encounter, but He also admonishes us to be of a good cheer for He has taken care of it.
You may be feeling pretty low about life right now, but I want you to remember that God is faithful in taking care of His own. It may not come the way you would like it, but His provision does come. Of course most of us would much rather work and pay our bills and have money to buy food, versus standing in food lines or having an agency dig into our personal lives in order to help us have fuel for the winter or pay our rent or mortgage. But it really doesn’t matter how our needs are being met, as long as they are. Maybe you would like to take your kids to the movies, but you can’t, but I’m sure you have much to be grateful for. If you are able to read this blog online, that is a blessing in itself.
Sisters, I don’t want you to feed into the lies of our enemy. No matter what your circumstances may be, God does love you. He loves you whether your circumstances are the consequences of your sin or poor decisions and He loves you if they are not. Job did nothing but be a man that God could trust to withstand the test. Don’t give up on God and His love for you. You must continue to “Fight the good fight of the faith!”
Ladies, if there is someone you know who is having a hard time, please help them if you can. The past couple of months I have been blessed by the generosity and love of my sisters who have helped me and Tovah. It is not the first time and it may not be the last. But I too have helped many over the years. That is what we are supposed to do. Even if you don’t have much yourself, please share and or ask some of your friends and family to pitch in and help you help someone.
Jesus says, “The world will know that you are mine, by the way you love one another.
John 13:35 [my paraphrase]
Love & Hugs
Ponnie
Tuesday's Blog: "Encouragement”
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