I wrote and posted this article in March of this year and decided that it was worth reposting i these difficult times. Many of my friends and even family members have lost jobs and are unemployed. Their job situation will not hinder God from providing their every need.
Questions: What does the bible say about God’s provisions when the economy is down? My company is laying off and I might lose my job. I am concerned that we might lose our savings and even our home.
God is in Control
God brought the universe into existence out of nothing (ex nihilo) with a spoken word. One minute nothing existed, the next minute, the whole material universe came into being because God told it to do so. God’s creation also came into existence with natural laws like gravity and the laws of physics to govern it. When He created the earth, He made the earth, the seas, the air and the plants and animals after their kind with natural laws to govern reproduction. He made man after His own image and put into effect laws that govern the effects of sin and evil. God is the Creator, the maker of everything and the maker of the natural laws that govern everything. He is also the maker of nations, their economies and the laws that govern economies. He understands our economy, governs our economy and controls our economy. He is actually using our economy to discipline the church and offer us an opportunity to wake up from the spiritual stupor we have slid into over the last years.
Let’s discuss why God is allowing our economy to suffer, His control over the economy, the opportunity for us to learn from these times and God’s promises to sustain His children in any and every economic situation.
God Trains His Children
First, I believe God uses adversity to discipline His children to train them in righteous living. Heb 12:5-11 explains that sometimes God whips His children to help them change their ideas. In America, over the last 60 years, we have believed lies about materialism and happiness through financial prosperity. The American dream of happiness through financial prosperity is a false idea that the devil has promoted and we have accepted. One of God’s goals is to help the church corporately and believers individually rethink this view about prosperity. He wants us to understand that He has given us far more than we need and that what we call needs are really wants. He wants us to realize that we can live happily in Him with far less, in a lesser home, with an older car, with the same clothing, with less retirement, with less insurance, etc. God is training us to understand that He is our happiness and security, not houses, cars and savings accounts.
Government is of God
Second, God is in control of human history in all of its facets, including the world economy and national governments. When an election appears to reflect the will of the people, it actually reflects the will of God. Listen to the book of Romans
Romans 13:1 Let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.
God is the ultimate authority over every authority system in the world. In the first century, Rome was the controlling power over the nation Israel. Jesus and His apostles didn’t fight Rome, they complied with the laws of Rome and Paul even used the laws of Rome to defend himself in court. The point I am making is that God controls the governing economic policies in a nation and therefore the rise and fall of the financial status of nations. While the 6:00 news reports nothing but bad news the truth is that God is in control. He allows the economy to rise and fall to teach us His word and His ways and He can change it anytime He decides. We should not allow bad reports and the stock market to determine the way we think about what God is doing with the economy.
Hard Times are Good Times
Third, hard times can be good times and in fact, they can be the best times for families. God uses difficult circumstances to teach us to trust Him.
James 1:2-4 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
To lose our dependence on financial gain and redirect it toward God is a blessing of great magnitude. When children are raised during times of scarcity, they have a greater appreciation for what they do have and what is required to earn it. When we lose hope in financial gain, we can then place our hope in God’s promises and enjoy the simple things of life together. We can learn that the blessings of inner peace, capacity to love and happiness apart from circumstances are far greater and more enduring than the pleasures that money can buy. Instead of worrying about the material losses you might suffer in this difficult time, focus on what God is graciously teaching you through adversity.
God Provides for His Children
Finally, God’s promise to supply all of our needs are unconditional and not dependent on a good economy. When God brought a 3-year drought on the nation of Israel, the prophet Elijah caught in the same drought, was provided sustenance by God’s grace.
1 Kings 17:2 And the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 3 “Go away from here and turn eastward, and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. 4 “And it shall be that you shall drink of the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to provide for you there.”
God provided water from a stream and birds flew in bread and meat morning and evenings for Elijah. When the brook dried up, God sent Him to a Gentile widow and made miraculous provision for him and her family. In an agricultural economy like Israel, years of drought meant starvation for people and animals. The economy was not down, it was almost non existent during this time and God was not hindered from providing for His children. Regardless of how bad it gets for us in this economy, God will provide our daily bread. The question for us is if He allows us to be reduced to daily bread and we lose many of our material blessings, will we be content with His provision.
Philippians 4:19 And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
God will supply our needs and even our wants depending on what He decides to teach us through this economy. Trust Him for what He has promised and tell yourself that material prosperity will not bring happiness. Tell yourself that His love that sent His Son to die for you will bring happiness in this life and in the next. What He has given us for eternity is so wonderful and so secure, that nothing we might own in this life can compare. If God is trying to teach us that lesson and give us the reality of it so that we feel that way, rejoice as James says that He has decided to free your from being a slave to what you own. When we can be content in any circumstance, we are truly blessed.
As in every other discussion we have on this site, let me encourage you to devote yourself to spiritual growth through learning and using God’s word. The bible studies and resources on this site are intended to help you build a foundation in the faith and enable you to grow to be a mature Christian. There is much to learn and every promise and principle we learn about God blesses us with joy and peace.
