Standing on the Rock of Jesus

Are you trusting God or money?

How much money do you need to have in the bank to feel safe and secure?   I think we all have a natural tendency to feel better when our bank account is full; but as Christians, our safety and security should come from God.  Rather than a life focused on monetary gain, Christians should live a life focused on spiritual gain.  Of course, we all need money to survive in this world; however, the ultimate supplier of that income is God.  When our lives are dedicated to money rather than God, we are following a path to destruction rather than a path to prosperity.  Keep in mind, it’s possible to have billions of dollars in the bank and still be spiritually empty.

How to feel safe and secure with an empty bank account.

When we place our trust in God, we can feel safe and secure regardless of how much money we have in the bank.  When we rest in the knowledge that God will provide, we can stop worrying about financial gain and spend our time seeking spiritual gain.  We generate our spiritual gain by following the teachings of Jesus.  There isn’t any place in the Bible that Jesus instructs us to get a high paying job and build up a large bank account.  Generating wealth is not part of the teachings of Jesus.

The financial needs of this world.

Even when we trust Jesus and find safety and security in knowing God, we still have an enemy dedicated to destroying our spiritual foundation.  The world we live in is designed to push us away from God by making money our number one priority.  If we don’t have money, we won’t have a place to live, food to eat, or the resources needed to handle any of our everyday needs.  Money is the driving force in this world and if we aren’t paying attention to our finances, we can end up in deep trouble.    The enemy wants us to believe it’s impossible to survive without dedicating our lives to earning more money.

God’s ultimate control.

As followers of Jesus, we have dedicated our lives to following the teachings of Jesus; the foundation of which is to love God and love your neighbor.  Love earning money is not on the list.  When we love God and love our neighbor, everything else will fall into place. That’s the simple solution to surviving in this world.  Obviously there is a need to seek some kind of employment in order to earn an income of some sort; however, that is secondary to loving God and loving your neighbor.  The enemy wants us to put money first; God wants us to put Him first.  We will never earn any income without the help of God.

You are not in control!

The enemy wants us to believe we are in control of our own lives.  In fact, this is a popular point of view among many people these days; however, it’s a misguided distraction.  God is in complete control.  When we fully embrace God’s control in our lives, the lies of the enemy become evident.  If we don’t acknowledge God’s control, the enemy will manipulate every aspect of our lives and lead us down a dark road to destruction.  The battle between light and darkness is going on all around us and our safety and security are fully dependent on which side we choose to follow.

We are nothing without God.

God is our Creator.  Who our parents were, where we live, what our abilities are, and what the future holds are all in the hands of God.  Absolutely nothing happens outside of the control of God.  Every life challenge we face is in the hands of God.  The enemy wants us to turn our back on God when life becomes difficult, but God wants us to reach out to Him so that He can guide us through any problem times we might face.  Trying to go through life without God is a big mistake. When we travel though life with God by our side, we can be certain that whatever we are going through, ultimately it will be for our benefit.

Stand firm and secure on the rock of your salvation.

Safety and security is God’s domain; don’t let the enemy tell you money is the answer.  When we place our faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we are placed on a road to an eternal life in the kingdom of God.  Following the teachings of Jesus is how we get there.  There will be difficult times along the way designed to build up our spiritual strength and prepare us for our eternal existence with God, but ultimately we will have the victory.  In the book of Matthew Jesus tells us, “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts on them, will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock.”  Jesus is our rock foundation.  Nothing is more safe and secure.

Trusting Jesus