Invite God Into Your Finances

“Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26

Sometimes a financial problem, such as a pile of debt, can seem insurmountable and it could be** if you try to solve the problem alone. If you invite God into your finances, however, everything changes and the seemingly impossible becomes possible, indeed.

It’s good to remember that there are only four things you can do with money. You can use it to live on; you can give it away; you can owe it to someone; or you can invest it to receive a return. Of the four uses for money, obviously debt is the one that gets most people in trouble. Debt is dangerous in three ways:

1. Debt’s compounding interest works against you (Economic danger)
2. Debt presumes on the future and may deny God an opportunity to work in your life (Spiritual danger)
3. Debt can add anxiety and threaten marital unity (Psychological danger)

We must never forget Proverbs 22:7: “The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender.”

A young couple, Matt and Lisa, were planning their wedding a few years ago. Lisa had no debt, but Matt was bringing $50,000 worth of debt into their marriage. Then God lit a fire under Matt. He decided,” I'm going to trust God with my money and I will do whatever it takes to get out this mountain of debt.” Matt prayed, “God, I'm asking for your help on this.”

Matt began to tithe at the same time, knowing that the math worked against him— trying to pay off a $50,000 debt with only 90% of his income. Still, he took a couple of jobs and moved into a less expensive living arrangement with roommates so he could pay more on the debt. While Matt and Lisa were engaged, he paid his debt down $8000 to $42,000.

Just as they were married, Lisa took a job at a church in California. Their honeymoon was driving from Georgia to California! Matt had a master’s degree but took a job at a restaurant (not his dream job) so that he could pay down this debt. He worked there with a great attitude and kept getting promotions.

One day, Matt was talking with the guys in his life group who were so moved by the way Matt was paying his debt and trusting God that one of them pulled him aside and said, “Matt, I want to give you $5000 to help you pay down that debt.” Of course, Matt said, “There's no way. I couldn't do that,” but his friend said, “No, here's the thing— God has blessed us and we want to bless you so this will give us joy.”

Matt was overwhelmed and went home to tell Lisa. She began to cry and told him that she had been so moved by watching her husband handle his obligations this way that she had prayed and felt like God whispered, "I’m going to help you, you’re not going to be alone in this." Lisa wrote down the number 10,000 in her journal thinking maybe God was going to send $10,000 to help them. She said to Matt, “I guess I got the number wrong, but God really was faithful and helped us!” Later Matt and Lisa shared this story with another couple for the joy of it. That couple came back to them later and said, “Matt, we want to give you the other $5000 so that the $10,000 really is what God gave to you.” Again Matt said, “I can’t let you do that. You should not do that. It's not your debt. This is my debt.”

“No, Matt,” the man said. “Your debt got paid on the cross. This is just money and money is just part of living in the Kingdom and part of what God gives to us so that we can use it with eternal perspectives.” Matt and Lisa accepted the second generous gift and in less than two years paid off $50,000 worth of debt living in one of the most expensive places in the world.

Make no mistake, this is not a “name it and claim it” story. Matt and Lisa simply invited God into their finances and humbly asked for His help. They were working hard to pay off the debt themselves and expected to, but God chose to send help in the form of other people. The point is, we never know how God will intervene to help with our problems.

Sometimes God answers our prayers without directly intervening. He may want us to go through a difficult period to shape our character and make us more like His Son, Jesus Christ, who suffered enormously for us.

What do you supposed happened next with Matt and Lisa? The next month, the first month they were free from debt, they discovered someone else they knew was also struggling to repay debt. Matt and Lisa sat down and wrote out a check and gave the money to that person. They said “God loves you and we love you and we want to help you get out of debt!”

When you invite God into your financial life, when you surrender your finances to God you go on a spiritual adventure that nothing else can replace. Matt and Lisa’s story is a great reminder of how God can act in our lives, maybe not as directly as that, but often in ways we can’t even imagine.

Once you invite God into your finances through earnest prayer, you must remember to:

1. Trust God first by giving back to His kingdom.
2. Be faithful to do your part, working to pay down debt if you have it.
3. Allow others to help when needed if they desire to help. Remember, it blesses them, too.

Of course, as the saying goes, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Here are the biblical principles for borrowing. If you follow them, you won’t find yourself drowning in debt one day:

1. The economic return must be greater than the economic cost (such as borrowing for a business or to buy a house).
2. There must be a guaranteed way to repay the amounts borrowed.
3. If married, spouses must be in agreement.
4. Borrow only when there are no other alternatives because it may deny God an opportunity to work.

As you begin that process, remember to ask God to join you on the way to becoming debt free! You can also listen to the related podcast on this topic.