Are you feeling overwhelmed by the stress caused by the current economic situation in the United States. Since I do have an audience living outside this country, the same question applies to you, too. The answer is likely to be “yes”. Perhaps, you may feel like throwing in the towel.
Don’t give up! I’ll even add “Don’t Panic!”
In this article, I would like to share some ideas that may be of help to you. For some of you, it may come as a surprise that the ideas came from the Bible. These are principles that anyone can use and it’s not exclusive to believers in Christ. Gee, I hope not! My Jewish friends would have a field day with me, if I try that!
I am a committed follower of Jesus and do agree with Paul in what he told Timothy. At first, I was a little skeptical because I did not understand his meaning.
Today, I can honestly say that I agree because I did some digging and learned to put some of the Scripture’s teachings into practice. The principles that I’ll be sharing will be based on what I learned.
I understand that my experiences and circumstances are not the same as yours. Because of my visual impairment and hearing loss, I can’t drive and I’m limited in terms of job opportunities. That’s one of the reasons that the “creator economy” is so attractive to me. Yet, God did not call me into a lucrative segment on YouTube or the blogosphere. My main income is SSDI.
So yeah, I do know what tight means! As per the time of this writing, I’ve had to find creative ways to expand my cooking repertoire and other ways to do things. Yet, I will not fear because my hope is in the LORD. Here’s what Psalms 91:1 says.
91 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
Psalms 91:1-2 NASB
Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
My God, in whom I trust!”
It is not a promise that I won’t have trouble because that would be a straight lie. It’s simply a promise that I can count on God to help me, in times of trouble. Why? It is because my Father loves m and is a part of my life. It’s all because of what Jesus did for me. You can have that same relationship with God.
I did not learn the above through merely reading my Bible and saying that I believe in Jesus. It also helps to see how God has helped me, in my own life. If the truth be known, I did ask God to help me see the grace that God has poured out in my life. I thank Jesus for opening my eyes to what has been done because I needed help in seeing it.
Hey! You are on Christianity Explained. What did you expect? Let’s move on to the next tip. It’s one that will be very practical in any economic season.
How does a proverb on improving your skills help in an economic recession? Do you know a better time to improve your existing skills? Keep in mind, this recession is not permanent. It will end in due time.
Because I don’t have a lot of cash, it became necessary for me to learn how to do certain things, for myself. Take a good look at the image! I found the background on Pixabay, for free.
The image is a PowerPoint slide that I created. If you looked at my YouTube thumbnails, you will see my handiworks created in Gimp. Thanks to Think Media, I found a way to remove the background on my photos. My graphic skills are not the only skills in need of improvement. I’ve had to do the same thing for my communication skills.
Why am I sharing the above two items? When times are good, it is easy to distracted and hand things off to other people. Hey, if you got the money then why not spend it! When times are hard, you will find it necessary to do things for yourself. At first, you will flounder. However, if you take the time to learn and not let yourself be frustrated; you will find yourself getting a lot better.
Anyone who has lived through the Great Depression or other economic troubles will guess this tip. I say this because they will have learned the value of saving your money and resources, little by little. I’ve had to do this, myself. You don’t need an economic recession to learn the lesson of this proverb from Scripture.
11 Wealth gained hastily will dwindle,
Proverbs 13:11 ESV
but whoever gathers little by little will increase it.
Years ago, I had a large student loan debt. It needed to be paid and I didn’t have much funds. I’ve had two wise suggestions given to me. One came from Crown Financial Ministry & Dave Ramsey. Pay your debt down, little by little. I had to start with the smaller debt then I moved to the bigger one. Dave has the right idea. The goal is to create momentum and that’s what I did. Today,, I no longer have any student loan debt.
The second one is more relevant to today’s economic turmoil. A friend suggested that I put my money in a savings account. The goal is to put aside a little amount of money, each month. I checked with my bank and started a savings account. At first, I did not have a lot of money. Today, I’ve enough funds to help in emergency.
In all this, I give thanks to Jesus for guiding me to the right people and impressing on my heart when I heard right counsel that lined up with God’s Word. Take the time to learn how to save your money and take care of how you spend it. Are you looking for ways to cut the cost of cleaning your house? You can try Melissa’s “Clean My Space” channel or Angela Brown’s Cleaning channel.
These channels are the only place to learn how to save on costs. You can find plenty of helpful blogs and YouTube channels on what you need. It is always a good idea to seek wise advice. Are you surprised that I’d point you to people on the Internet? Don’t be. It is not wrong to get good advice from knowledgeable sources. Nevertheless, I’d be remiss if I didn’t tell you to not be afraid to ask God for his counsel.
I would like to wrap this article by sharing a final tip. It will be for you to make the decision. It’s a Scripture advice that I have found challenging to remember. It is not enough to intellectually know this verse. It requires that you choose to believe and act on it. What Scripture am I talking about?
6 For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7 For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.
2 Timothy 1:6-7 NASB
It’s perfectly normal to have fear in your life. If you are a follower of Jesus, that fear doesn’t have to dominate your thinking or your life. You have the gift of the Holy Spirit and God’s Spirit is able to help you and can give you the boldness to overcome your fears. As for discipline, the underlying Greek is also used for “sound mind”.
Don’t be afraid to ask Jesus for help in your own circumstances.
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