When Money Doesn't Talk

You may have heard that there are two tests regarding money: how you act when you have it, and how you act when you don’t. I’m pretty sure that statement is correct.

Several years ago I told the Lord that I didn’t want Him to direct me through money. Up to that point, I had known only three guides: my parents (who by that time had faded from the role of guides) the Bible, and money. What I really wanted, of course, was to have the luxury of a lot of money, while still not going my own way in self-will. In other words, I wanted to be able to act as though I had no money, even when I did. What I hadn’t considered was the possibility that the Lord may insist that I also act like I have money, even when I don’t.

I realize that in our credit card and massive debt society, it is very easy for most people to spend as though they have money. That isn’t quite the same, however, as taking steps to follow God’s leading, even when you don’t know how you’ll come up with the funds to take the step after that. It isn’t terribly easy to make concrete plans as though you have money, when in fact you don’t.

Until this evening, I thought that what I was dealing with now was a big deal. After all, I’m planning to build a nice addition to my house, for which I don’t have the cash or the need. Yet. This evening, however, I realized that the Lord was giving me a pretty cushy practice run. I will probably be approved for a home equity line of credit—just in case I need it—and seven hundred square feet is really not that much.

I say that’s cushy, because somewhere down the line there is a corporate office to be built, and at least one Mercy home. And only God knows what else. How on earth can I expect to manage that if I can’t manage this?

You see, I did tell the Lord I didn’t want to be guided by money. I want to be guided by Him. When He tells me to build, I want to build, regardless of the amount of cash in my hand. When He tells me to hold off, I want to hold off, regardless of the amount of cash in my hand. When He tells me to build my own particular version of an ark, I want to do so, even if I’ve never seen evidence of that particular variety of rain. Jesus said that when we ask our Father for bread, He won’t give us a stone. So it is. I’ve asked, and now I’m receiving.

It’s a little scary, but it’s also perhaps the most wonderful experience I’ve ever had. Living by faith is living in friendship with God. He trusts me to listen when He speaks.

That is some kind of wonderful.

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