Latest / Becoming Financially Confident / How Does Trusting God Anchor My Finances Beyond Earthly Treasures?
Transcript
- 0:00Ralph: You're doing all the right things with your money.
- 0:02You're doing that budgeting, you're saving, you're making great plans.
- 0:06But what happens when life throws an unexpected curve ball your way
- 0:11and that familiar financial anxiety tries to creep right back in?
- 0:15What's your ultimate anchor when circumstances feel shaky?
- 0:20Stick with me today 'cause I'm gonna share with you today how to find that
- 0:22unshakeable peace in Jesus himself.
- 0:40Hello and welcome back to your Daily Financially Confident Christian.
- 0:43I'm Ralph, and as always, I'm honored to be a part of your day.
- 0:46It's great to be with you again.
- 0:48We continue our journey today answering that very, very difficult question.
- 0:54How can I become a financially confident Christian?
- 0:57We're continuing in our series Beyond the Budget, finding Financial
- 1:01Freedom through Intentional Living.
- 1:04We covered contentment.
- 1:05We've talked about gratitude, and yesterday we talked
- 1:08about value aligned spending.
- 1:10And I hope you're really staying up with this series.
- 1:12And if you missed any of them, I'll encourage you to go back and listen.
- 1:15today we're gonna cover how does trusting God anchor my finances
- 1:19beyond earthly treasures?
- 1:21We're really gonna reach beyond what is here in the present and
- 1:24all the stuff that surround us.
- 1:27' cause as I said at the beginning, maybe you've done all the right things.
- 1:31You're saying to me, Ralph, I I do, I do all the things you say.
- 1:33I budget Ralph, I do the things you talked about Ralph.
- 1:37I save, I have that emergency savings fund.
- 1:39I, I paid off my debts and now I'm avoiding debt.
- 1:43I'm doing all those things gr but, but then, but then I have a job loss.
- 1:49My spouse has a job loss or, or maybe we have an emergency.
- 1:54Just something we weren't expecting where you have some unexpected bills
- 1:57we just weren't planning for, and then suddenly when that happens, that
- 2:02fear that you work so hard to break.
- 2:06It just swims right back and it just fills you.
- 2:08Again, that fear just returns, and even with all the planning you're
- 2:13doing, doing all the right things, that fear just feels overwhelming.
- 2:18And I think I know the problem today, and I want you to hear
- 2:21me loud and clear on this.
- 2:23The problem for most people is security is rooted in money.
- 2:27Or it's rooted in control and it's not rooted in God.
- 2:31And when things aren't rooted in God, let me just tell you something right
- 2:34now, that peace that you think you're working towards, if it's not rooted
- 2:38in God, it makes that peace, fragile.
- 2:41One little thing, the job loss, the unexpected bill, that family
- 2:44emergency, it makes it fragile.
- 2:47It makes a conditional, and the worst part.
- 2:51It makes it fleeting.
- 2:52It just goes away when there's an issue.
- 2:55And here's the thing I need you to hear today.
- 2:58Stewardship is essential.
- 2:59All the things I talk about on the show every day are essential components
- 3:04to living that, that financial piece we talk about, But none of those
- 3:09things, none of them is the anchor.
- 3:14The only true anchor, the anchor that will be there in the storm is God.
- 3:19God is that anchor.
- 3:21Well, let's get to God's word.
- 3:23Let's look at Matthew chapter six, verse 21.
- 3:27' cause this sums it up better than I could ever say it
- 3:32for where your treasure is there, your heart will be also.
- 3:38They're your heart.
- 3:41Also where your treasure is.
- 3:43And see, here's the problem.
- 3:45If your heart treasures money, if it treasures stuff, if treasures that
- 3:50car, that house, that vacation home, those trips, all the stuff you see on
- 3:54social media, if your heart treasures those things, you're always gonna
- 4:00be vulnerable to that emergency, to that unexpected, to that job loss,
- 4:04to that crisis you weren't expecting.
- 4:07On the other hand,
- 4:10if it treasures Christ, then today, my friend, you've got an anchor that
- 4:17will be there through the thick and the thin, the good, the bad, and the ugly.
- 4:20Let's look again at the Bible.
- 4:21let's look at the book of Philippians, chapter four, verses six and seven says
- 4:27this very eloquent, peace of scripture.
- 4:30Do not be anxious.
- 4:32Hey, we could stop right there.
- 4:33Do not be anxious.
- 4:34Okay, Ralph, you heard what?
- 4:35But it goes deeper than that.
- 4:38Do not be anxious with Thanksgiving.
- 4:40Present your request to God and the peace of God.
- 4:46Peace, P-E-A-C-E.
- 4:48That peace will guard your hearts and your minds.
- 4:52What do we take from that?
- 4:55See, here's the thing I take from it.
- 4:57Peace isn't tied to your bank balance.
- 5:00It's not tied to how big your home is or how nice your car is, or
- 5:03how much is in your 401k, or how much you do for It doesn't matter.
- 5:07Stuff doesn't matter.
- 5:10Peace comes from surrender, surrendering it to God,
- 5:14surrendering it to Christ himself.
- 5:15It comes from faith, and it comes from God's presence in your life.
- 5:20Trust in him.
- 5:22Changes how we view our finances, even in times of very, very difficult uncertainty.
- 5:29Hey, if you're watching the news right now, we are living
- 5:31in times of uncertainty.
- 5:33But let me just tell you right now, friend, if you've got an anchor in Christ,
- 5:39I don't care what goes on around you.
- 5:40So now you're thinking, wow, okay, what can we do?
- 5:44How do we cultivate deep trust in God financially?
- 5:46No one's ever talked to me about that.
- 5:49You made your case.
- 5:50How do I do that?
- 5:51How do I cultivate that deep trust in God financially?
- 5:55Well, here's how you do it.
- 5:57Place your trust in God's provision and seek his peace daily.
- 6:03It's a daily decision.
- 6:04Anchor yourself spiritually, not circumstantially.
- 6:07Hey, a lot of people are good Christians.
- 6:09When things are going great, oh God, hey, everything is going great.
- 6:12I love you, Lord.
- 6:12You're doing so much for me.
- 6:15That's not spiritual anchoring, that's just circumstantiality.
- 6:19And then when somethings happens, you, God, how could you do this to me?
- 6:23So here's your action step for today, and this one's gonna take a little
- 6:27courage, but I'm confident you can do it.
- 6:29I want you to identify one core financial fear that you have.
- 6:33Be specific about it.
- 6:36Maybe it's a job loss debt, retirement inflation, and I
- 6:38want you to write it down.
- 6:39I'm gonna give you a few examples, but Write down what your one
- 6:43core fear, financial fear is.
- 6:46Maybe it's, I'm afraid I'll lose my job and won't be able to pay the mortgage.
- 6:50Hey, I get it.
- 6:50That's a fear.
- 6:52Or I'm overwhelmed by credit card debt and fear I'll never get out.
- 6:57Hey, a lot of times I talk to my clients that are in their forties and
- 7:00fifties, and the big fear they have is I worry I won't have enough save for
- 7:02retirement, Ralph, that just worries me.
- 7:06Keeps me up at night.
- 7:08Here's one that's really timely.
- 7:11Inflation is making everything more expensive, Ralph, and I'm
- 7:14scared I won't be able to keep up.
- 7:16Or maybe this one.
- 7:18Listen, we've all been here.
- 7:19I'm afraid a medical emergency will ruin us financially.
- 7:24So start right there.
- 7:25Be specific.
- 7:26Write down one core financial fear that you have deep down in your heart.
- 7:31And then the second thing I want you to do is just surrender it.
- 7:34Just give it to God in prayer.
- 7:35Find a quiet space and tell God that fear.
- 7:39Just create a quiet moment and say something like, father, I'm
- 7:42worried about losing my job.
- 7:45Not being able to provide for my family, and I just surrendered that fear to
- 7:48you because I know you see me, you know my needs and you are my provider.
- 7:54Lord, help me trust you today and walk in faith, not fear or how about this one?
- 8:00God, this debt feels like it's crushing me and I just don't see any way out.
- 8:04But I believe you make a way where there is no way, Lord and I surrender that fear
- 8:09and ask you to guide me in my next step.
- 8:12And just trust him with it.
- 8:13So find that fear, surrender to God.
- 8:16And then I just want you to do one more thing.
- 8:18I want you to just meditate on a promise.
- 8:21I'm gonna give you a couple Bible verses.
- 8:23I want you to just choose one of these verses and apply it to that fear.
- 8:26We'll start with Matthew 6 21, for where your treasure is
- 8:29there, your heart will be also.
- 8:32So ask yourself, am I trusting in money more than God?
- 8:37Hey, that's not an easy question to ask yourself.
- 8:39It's a difficult question to answer if it is realign your heart with him.
- 8:44Or how about Philippians chapter four, verses six and seven?
- 8:46We talked about this earlier.
- 8:48Do not be anxious about anything.
- 8:51The peace of God will guard your hearts and your minds.
- 8:54Write this on a sticky odor.
- 8:55Make it your phone wallpaper, and then as you start to feel those fears, just
- 9:02repeat it when that fear creeps in.
- 9:05Or how about this one?
- 9:06I think this is one of the best pieces of scripture.
- 9:08Matthew Chapter 6 25 to 34.
- 9:10I'm just gonna summarize it.
- 9:11Do not worry about your life.
- 9:14Your heavenly Father knows you need them.
- 9:16He knows you need those things.
- 9:17So each time a financial fear arises, read that passage and say, God knows my needs.
- 9:23The anchor knows my needs, and he provides for me.
- 9:27Write it down.
- 9:27Repeat it throughout the day when worry returns.
- 9:31'cause this helps by replacing that fear with your faith.
- 9:34You can look at it, you can see it, you can read it again and
- 9:37again, and it anchors you in truth, not the world, not fear.
- 9:42And it trains your heart to trust God first.
- 9:45Trust God first.
- 9:47Because today's exercise, today's action stuff, it's practical
- 9:51and it's deeply spiritual.
- 9:53How about we pray together?
- 9:56Father God, we just thank you for being our provider and Lord, being our anchor in
- 9:59the storm and the anchor when we need you.
- 10:02And Lord, we have to confess that our tendency to trust in money and fear
- 10:07and loss, we tend to trust in that.
- 10:10And Lord, we just ask you to help us to treasure you above all else.
- 10:14You know our anxieties, Lord, so soothe our anxieties with your presence.
- 10:18Guard our hearts with peace beyond understanding.
- 10:22And Lord, we just ask that you would strengthen our trust
- 10:24every single day of our lives.
- 10:26And we ask this with confidence.
- 10:28In Jesus' name.
- 10:32this, real peace isn't in your bank.
- 10:37It's in your God.
- 10:39So surrender a fear today.
- 10:40Anchor it in him because you're moving towards lasting freedom.
- 10:44And I just wanna encourage you today to share this show with somebody.
- 10:46I feel really compelled today that we can take this and we can just
- 10:50send this out to everybody who needs to know who the true anchor is.
- 10:56Just send somebody a text and say, Hey, go to financially confident christian.com
- 11:00or send them a link to the show.
- 11:01Maybe you are watching this on YouTube or on Rumble, or you're listening
- 11:05to it on your favorite podcast app.
- 11:07Just share that with them because the world needs to hear about the true anchor.
- 11:12It will solve the world's problems, and you have the capacity right
- 11:15now to share this with somebody who could very well change their lives.
- 11:19You win somebody else to the gospel.
- 11:23I also wanna give you a free gift today.
- 11:24I wanna give you a copy of my book.
- 11:25It's called Mastering Your Finances.
- 11:27You get a free copy by going to financially confident
- 11:30christian.com/master.
- 11:33It is a monumental short read that will have a dynamic
- 11:37impact in changing your life.
- 11:40Now, tomorrow we're gonna get really, really practical.
- 11:42We're gonna talk about why we buy what we don't need and how to break that cycle.
- 11:47So I'm gonna encourage you not to miss it.
- 11:49And let's go out there today and be those financially confident
- 11:53Christians we work so hard to become.
- 11:56You can do this.
- 11:58I truly believe in you.
- 12:02Believe in yourself.
- 12:02Stay financially savvy.
- 12:04God bless you, and you have a great day today.