Have you ever felt like God was speaking to you? Maybe it wasn’t in an audible voice, but in a still small whisper to your heart, an insistent urgency that won’t go away and is confirmed in things people say, verses you read and other “coincidences” that happen. When my husband Curt and I determined to get out of debt, we knew it was because God was telling us to. This was confirmed in our circumstances and in the unified attitude we both had about this huge task. In the past, we had always fought over money, never agreeing on how we should handle it. But when God moved in both of our hearts at the same time, we were able to approach things as a team.
I would like to tell you that because God said to do it, it was all hearts and flowers and peace after that. But that would not be true. On the contrary, getting out of debt was one of the hardest things we had ever done. There were a lot of two steps up and one step back moments in our journey towards financial freedom. We got discouraged. We got tired. We got frustrated. We wanted to quit (thankfully never both of us at once). It was in those moments that we had to refocus on what God had said, on what He had promised to do in our lives if we would walk in obedience. We had to stand on His promises, returning again and again to His word for reinforcement.
If you are struggling to straighten out your finances, don’t get swayed by your circumstances. Even when Murphy strikes and everything seems to be going wrong. Even when you want to slip back into old habits and buy that outfit on sale. Even when you are tempted by the stuff you see and want. Even when you feel like you will never make headway. Don’t quit trying. Write Isaiah 46:11 down on an index card and carry it wherever you go. Or post it on your refrigerator or bathroom mirror as that extra reminder that what God said, He will bring to pass. And what He purposes, He will do. It might take longer than you expected. It might be harder than you ever anticipated. But it will happen. Four and a half years after we started our journey out of debt, our family is living proof. I hope that this verse serves to encourage and strengthen you today as you walk one step closer to financial freedom.
I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed and I will do it. Isaiah 46:11b
©2009, Marybeth Whalen
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