Stressing over money takes a toll on our well-being and relationships, and it can seriously damage your marriage. Howard Dayton joins Rob West today with tips to help you come together around money.
Howard Dayton is the founder ofCompass Finances God’s Wayand the former host of MoneyWise.
Financial hardships happen to almost everyone at some point in time. Some of those hardships reflect the consequences of our actions; others are completely beyond our control.
Regardless of the cause, Howard Dayton offers this advice for dealing with those challenges:
GOD’S ROLE
First, understand God’s role in a crisis. Nothing is more important than knowing who God isHis love, care, control, and power. Only the Bible reveals the true extent of God's involvement in our challenges. If we have an inadequate or warped view of God and His purposes, we won't fully embrace and learn from our challenges. We’ll forfeit the peace and even joy that God makes available to us:
1 John 4:8 defines God's very nature: "God is love." God loves you, and throughout your whole life, He remains intimately involved with you as an individual.
In any crisis, it's critical to remember God's unfailing love and faithfulness. It's easy to get discouraged and even lose hope. It's easy to forget God's love and care for you, especially when adversity first strikesor goes on and on for what feels like an eternity.
HIS PURPOSE
And we should also remember that God has a purpose in allowing us to experience difficulties.
God uses those difficult, sometimes heartbreaking times, to mature us in Christ. In James 1 we find, Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."
God never makes a mistake. He knows exactly what He wants us to become, and also knows exactly what’s necessary to produce that result in our lives.
OUR ROLE
God has a role when we face financial difficulties, but what’s our role?
The first and most important thing we must do is trust in the Lord. In Isaiah 26 we find, You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you."
Obviously, you have to get your financial house in order, so quickly evaluate how the circumstance will impact your finances, and to make the necessary adjustments for any diminished income or increased expenses.
But make no mistake, the key to solving your financial problems is learning and applying God's way of handling money. It’s truly that simple. God’s financial principles will give you His framework for managing money.
But knowing is only half of what you need. The other half is applying what you’ve learned. It will take time and effort to get through the difficulty but you’ll know the basics of what you should do.
THINGS TO AVOID
What should AVOID doing when facing a financial crisis?
There are several things, and they all involve trusting in yourself instead of God. The most important thing not to do is allow your fear to dictate your actions.
When facing a financial crisis the tendency is to hold on tightly to what we have, and become less generous. But you should never let a crisis keep you from remaining generous. There’s a great illustration of this in Acts 11:28 which says. A Prophet named Agabus through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. The disciples, as each one was able, decided to provide help for the believers living in Judea.
The Holy Spirit revealed through a prophet that a severe world-wide famine was coming soon, and their first reaction was to get out their checkbooks! So, don’t allow a crisis to stop you from remaining generous. You may not be able to give as much as you did previously, but still give.
Learn more about Howard Datyon and Compass - Finances God’s Way atCompass1.org.
LISTENER QUESTIONS On today’s program, Rob also answers listener questions: ●How do you determine if now is a good time to buy a home? ●What should go into a safe deposit box vs a home safe? ●How do you go about managing your monthly income well? RESOURCES MENTIONED ●MoneyWise App Remember, you can call in to ask your questions most days at (800) 525-7000 or email them toQuestions@MoneyWise.org. Also, visit our website atMoneyWise.orgwhere you can connect with a MoneyWise Coach, join the MoneyWise Community, and even download the free MoneyWise app.
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