I Don't Believe In The Stock Market

I listened to a teaching this afternoon that struck me so forcibly, I must write about it. In the Bible, we find a great deal about God’s goodwill toward man. For instance, in Deuteronomy there is a lengthy passage that lists many good things that God wants for us, including success in everything we attempt, health, influence, and materials blessings. These and other great things that God wants us to participate in and experience are listed repeatedly in various places throughout the Bible.

We also find story after story of just how God brought these things to pass in the lives of various historical figures. He wanted provision for His people, so in one instance, we find that He told Moses to strike a rock to create a gushing river. In another instance He told Moses to speak to the rock. He wanted Israel to destroy the inhabitants of Canaan, so in one case they were to march around the city, and in another case they were to do this, and in yet another case, they were to do that. The concept—victory over their enemies—was always the same; the method—how to accomplish it—was never the same.

Those of you who have been around for a very long time may remember that I addressed a type of this situation years ago in a blurb titled, "Batteries Not Included." The idea was that the power to do what we read that we ought to do, both in the Bible and in other self-help books, is not included with the instructions; the power comes only from the Lord. This takes that one step further: the premise is that the Bible does not give us workable methods to accomplish God’s will in our lives.

I’ve got a perfect example. Last summer, as I was praying, I felt the Lord was giving me directions for a personalized savings plan, and in my heart, all I knew was that there was going to be an opportunity, and I was going to need to have money saved up in order to take advantage of the opportunity. A few months later, the stock market took a nose-dive. One night I found myself thinking, this would be the perfect time to buy stock on the market. And, of course, I had a few thousand dollars saved up. The next morning I thought, but what on earth would I buy? And I remembered hearing something about Ford. The short story is that I bought some Ford stock, and in less than two months I more than doubled my money.

I wrote a little ditty: "I don’t believe in the stock market but I ⁄⁄ believe in You; I believe You want to bless me ⁄⁄ and I believe You will."

I have doubled my money by playing the stock market, and I still don’t believe in the stock market. Rightfully so. It is merely a method that God chose to accomplish His will in my life.

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