POSITIONED FOR OBEDIENCE
Kendra Intihar
Today’s Scripture: “The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender.” Proverbs 22:7 (NIV).
Theme: Work diligently to add to what God has given you and reduce debt, so that you have the resources to do what He puts in your heart to do.
OUR MONEY’S ALLEGIANCE
Like most red-blooded Americans, my husband and I are in debt. We’ve discovered how very true Proverbs 22:7 is when it says that the borrower is slave to the lender (NIV). Our money’s “allegiance” is to our lenders. We don’t have a choice; it belongs to them!
Several years ago, we attended a financial literacy course through The Cove, and it completely changed our perspective on carrying the burden of debt. While we always knew that debt wasn’t desirable, we had never been so intensely focused on paying off our school, home, and car loans.
SUBMITTING OUR FINANCES TO GOD
God asks us to trust Him with our finances. He asks us to be generous. He asks us to consecrate ourselves (including our money) to His purposes, but we can’t do any of this as effectively as we want to because we are slaves to our lenders. Once we figured this out, we resolved to change the allegiance of our finances. Our goal is for our money to submit to God…not to any lender. We want to be ready, financially, for whatever God asks us to do, wherever He asks us to go, and whoever He wants us to bless. We have a long way to go, but we celebrate our progress and our milestones, and we know we’re going to eventually see our money freed up for greater purposes. We are positioning ourselves for obedience.
I think the same can be said for all of the resources God has given us. Things like our time, talents, energy, focus, devotion, etc., are often completely preoccupied with the things this world has to offer. Just like our finances, God can use those resources for His purposes, but first, we must position ourselves to be obedient with them. If our lives are filled with things that prevent us from saying “yes” to what God has for us, then we aren’t leaving Him any room to do the wonders He has planned in and through us.
Make It Personal: Where, in your life, are you not positioned for obedience? Where do you need to learn to say “no” with your time, talents, finances, and energy so that you are free to say an emphatic “yes” when God asks you to move forward into the plans He has for you?
Pray: God, thank You for the opportunity to lay my finances before You so that You can use them for Kingdom purposes. Help me to say “no” to the things that trap me financially so that I can say “yes” to You. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Read: Colossians 3:1-3; Titus 2:11-14
Weekly Memory Verse: "Honor the Lord with your wealth
and with the firstfruits of all your produce." Proverbs 3:9, ESV