Finding Peace In Christ in Times of Financial Turmoil

“And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7 KJ).

This is the worst global economic era of my life time. The economy seems to be crumbling before our eyes. I actually have been diverting my eyes from the news because it makes my heart heavy and the more I watch the financial news, the less I focus on the fact that God is in control. I sat in front of the TV one day, obsessing over the Dow Ticker at the top of the screen. Every time it changed I compelled to yell out the number of points it jumped down. I don't know who I was yelling to, but I found myself obsessed with it - like a car accident. I didn't want to see the gruesome details, but I just could tear myself away. Not healthy. Yesterday I actually set aside the Business Section, normally my favorite Sunday morning indulgence (we are Saturday Night church people), because knew I had to be in the right frame of mind before reading it or I would let it bring me down instead of just letting it inform me. I don't want to let the newspaper have that kind of power over me.

But, even with the bad news all around me, I don't feel like this is the worst economic era in my own life. I spent years pretending that my personal finances were just fine. Those were the years when the debt was piling up as was the stack of unpaid bills and the phone messages from the collectors. I was so inept at facing my financial reality that my boyfriend at the time (now my fabulous husband) and I had a joint checking account so that he could help me untangle the horrible web of selfdestruction that I had created.
That period of my life was a low point. I was afraid to answer the phone for fear that it might be Master Card calling to make threats that I didn't know how to respond to. I was afraid to open my mail box in fear that it would contain more bills to throw into the stack of unopened mail, a guilt filled daily ritual. I was even afraid to buy things that I wanted or even needed because I didn't know if I had money in my checking account or room on my credit cards. Ignorance is not bliss.
However, handing it all over to God - now that's bliss. My current financial situation is one that would have most people in a worried tizzy. Our savings has been depleted over the past 5 months of my husband's unemployment. Our ARM on our mortgage just adjusted (yes - I know this has stupid written all over it, but that's another blog post for another day), and our retirement savings are going down the tubes along with everyone else's. But now have an amazing tool in my box that didn't use to be there. Now I have peace that transcends all understanding.
"Oh sure, it's easy for you to have peace about finances, Karen, you're the Money Honey, you understand all this stuff." My peace doesn't come from reading the Wall Street Journal, it comes from reading the Bible. My peace doesn't come from talking to my financial advisor, it comes from talking to my Heavenly Father. He's my rock, my salvation, my life preserver, my friend.
I challenge you -- the next time you feel your blood pressure elevating or heart quickening when your mind turns to money, just pray. Pray that God will help you use the resources available to you to be the best steward that you can be. Pray that you will make wise decisions based on what His word teaches us about money. Pray that His peace will fill your spirit and over power the worry and the stress, that you can move forward taking the best care of your financial household.
"Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life." Philippians 4:6-7 The Message