At church last Sunday, I heard a verse from the Bible that struck a nerve. When reality hits home, its hard to ignore, especially when a verse sums up the last 15 years of your life. Lamentations 3:17 references Jeremiah, who is speaking a message to Israel given to him by the Lord. In essence, God’s chosen people had forgotten what is was like to experience prosperity during their years of exile.
As for me, I moved to Delaware a wealthy man, at least in my own eyes. Wise investments after getting married resulted in enough money to pay for our first house in cash. However, being told to rely on first time home buyer tax breaks, my wife and I decided to save most of this for the future. Unfortunately, when many of the .com companies went belly up in 2000, I lost nearly $65,000 dollars in the stock market. With this slush fund basically gone, the hits kept coming as my teaching salary wasn’t enough to support a family, losing on average of $2000 a year. Thus, our savings account quickly became an accumulating debt which has taken a toll on both of us, sending my family into our own sort of financial exile.
However, if you’ve never had a bad day in life, you won’t be able to appreciate the good ones. Thus, the James 1:2-4 principle applies to forgotten prosperity. When your money is gone, God is a last resort, a crutch to help you stand back up. I wish the last 15 years had a different ending, but for now what’s done is done. The hard part is moving on, swallowing your pride and trusting God for daily bread, Matthew 6:11. I’m not sure what God has planned, yet it’s never too late to pray for a Job like conclusion, Job 42:12-15. Go with God and God will go with you!
by Jay Mankus
ExpressYourself4Him 