One of the things that my parents taught me early on was that God is our source. Everything we have comes from Him. Our jobs are simply tools He uses, and we need to be careful not to think that they are our source. When we get the two confused, our life gets out of balance. We can start to think that we are the reason we have the things we have and that it belongs to us. When we understand that God is our source, we understand that everything we have not only comes from Him, but it belongs to Him as well. Our money, our house, our car, our food and all that we possess belong to Him. When we think that way, how we use money changes too. We’re more careful with something that belongs to someone else.
In Matthew 25, Jesus told the Parable of the Talents. There was a man who was leaving on a trip. He gave each of his servants money according to their abilities. One received five talents, one received two talents and the other one. He would then come back to see what these servants did with the money. The money that the servants had always belonged to the man who went on a trip. It was simply their responsibility to manage it well. We know that some did and one did not. The ones who managed his money were rewarded with more. He told them if they could be faithful with what they were given, he could then trust them with more. There were so many lessons to learn in this parable including the idea that all we have belongs to God and we need to treat it as such.
David understood this concept too. In Psalm 16:5 he wrote, “You, Lord, are all I have, and you give me all I need; my future is in your hands” (GNT). Knowing this and living it don’t take all the stress off of things, but it should help us to keep things in perspective. God knows your situation right now. He will give you all you need and your future, which belongs to Him, is in His capable hands. Whether you have a little or a lot, what we do with what we have is what’s important. Understanding that it all belongs to Him and one day He will ask us to give an account of what we did with what He trusted us with should guide us. He is all we have. He is all we need. He gives us all we need. Ask Him for wisdom and guidance in caring for and growing what He’s entrusted to you.
Photo by Travis Essinger on Unsplash
Devotions by Chris Hendrix 