financial empowerment Archives : Living Success

Hope for the Big Spender

Financial Empowerment, Financial Success

“When he finally came to his senses… I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”

– Luke 15:17-19

Money answers all things. It is the currency by which this world operates. We cannot live on this earth without earning money and spending it on what we need. Both steps are required to function properly in this world. My concern is for those big spenders who go over and above what they need or can afford. To some it may seem fine, but deep inside we know it will lead to disaster. But there is hope for the big spender, and the Word of may offers more help than we realize.

Too Much, Too Soon

In the familiar story of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11–32), we can see similarities between people living today and people living during Bible times. At the beginning of this story, the younger son of the wealthy man appears as the eager beaver who can’t wait to get his hands on his father’s money.

Are we eager to have money? Are we always looking for ways to get more and then spend it? Christians often fail in their walk with God because they are focused more on material things or money than on relating to their heavenly Father and becoming more like Christ. Most seek the blessing rather than the One who blesses. No doubt we serve a heavenly Father who is willing to bless us with all things pertaining to life and godliness (2 Peter 1: 3-4). Unfortunately, far too often we cry to Him, “Father, give me this and give me that. Lord, I need a financial blessing,” rather than seeking to know Him and making Him known.

In all fairness, this young man asked for what was rightfully his, but his request was premature. Rather than focusing on spending time with his father, his emphasis was on getting his inheritance and deciding what he would do with it. He couldn’t wait for his father to die; he wanted his money now. Like this young man, Christians get impatient waiting and press God for their financial blessings. In His permissive will, God allows us to receive a blessing, just like this young man’s father, knowing fully well that the child is incapable of managing the responsibility financial blessing entails.

Can you identify with this? Have you ever asked God to bless your finances or give you something you thought you really needed, only to realize after receiving it that you were unprepared to handle it? That is what I call ‘asking prematurely.’ Instead, when you ask for a blessing, you should also ask God to prepare you to handle it when it comes. You should be certain your heart motive is right and that God can trust you with the blessing He gives to you.

One thing is certain—God wants to bless us. However, we do not glorify God if He blesses us and, due to a lack of character, integrity, or money skills, we quickly lose the blessing. For example, why should God promote us to a higher position in an organization, only to be fired shortly afterwards because we couldn’t effectively communicate with our colleagues? What glory is there to God if we should come into an inheritance or be given a substantial financial blessing and lose it all within weeks with no way to give account for it?

Have you ever looked back and said to yourself, Oh, I sure wish I had done that differently? Maybe as you look back now, you wish you hadn’t spent your money so wildly, especially those large amounts. Maybe you wish you hadn’t sold that property so quickly. Maybe you wish you could go back a few years earlier and start afresh. You would love to erase those bad financial decisions you made along the way. Whatever it is, you realize it was too much too soon, and you failed to consult God about what to do. However, there is hope.

Come to Your Senses

What do you spend your money on? Do you spend your money on more clothes, shoes, electronic gadgets, dinners out with friends, another family event, or anything you see on sale? Are you spending your money on what doesn’t satisfy (Isa. 55:2)? Are you happy when you have spent all or sometimes more than what you have earned? You should take care that after all the extravagant living you don’t end up like this young man.

After he wasted his inheritance, hard times came, and the economy fell. Sound familiar, doesn’t it? Maybe you can identify with this guy. Excessive spending and high consumer debt, along with world financial market turmoil, have left many in want. Without houses, cars, jobs, and savings, many face great uncertainty about the future. His reckless living resulted in his being worse off than the servants in his father’s house. While those servants had a roof over their heads, a bed to sleep in, and good food to eat, he lived with pigs and ate pig food! How low can you get? Perhaps you’ve hit rock bottom and will do anything to survive or make ends meet. For some, that means getting into more debt or another credit card, but that just adds to their problem.

Take a page from this young man’s story and consider how it applies to you. You need to recognize what you have done and be willing to change direction. Being a big spender may have put you in a difficult financial position with too many bills to pay, creditors calling you constantly, and insufficient money to cover your daily living expenses. But hope remains.
This young man recognized that being in his father’s house as a servant was far better than living in his current position. At least he would have shelter and food. He was willing to return, as shameful as it would have felt, to seek his father’s forgiveness. He was willing to go to his father, admit his faults, and ask to be restored.

What about you? Do you realize that being in the Father’s house and eating His bread as His servant is much better than eating pig food? In other words, do you realize that when you live in God’s house and serve Him, eat His word, and align your life to His will, you will no longer struggle through life? You will find that His Word prepares you for every aspect of life, lifts you up, and restores you, including your finances. In His house His Word satisfies; there you will find help to eliminate the habit of overspending. You need to realign your life, including the habit of excessive spending, to His will. Are you ready to acknowledge your sin and return to the Father? If you confess to the Father that you are a spendthrift and have act unwisely and ask for His forgiveness, He will certainly forgive you and also help you to live victoriously above that sin of overspending (1 John 1:9).

Right now, pause and take a moment to go to the Father and ask for His forgiveness (Luke 15:18), just like this young man did. The Father is waiting with open arms for you to return and surrender this area of your life to Him. He will receive you, celebrate with you, and give you the ability to overcome the habit of overspending. Give it all to Jesus; He is able to help you.
Be assured that the Father has forgiven you. The beauty of this story is found in the father’s response to the return of his lost son. He celebrated his return. His return signified the son’s acknowledgment of his faults, his helplessness, and the need for his father’s forgiveness. His father’s response with open arms, the celebration with the killing of the fatted calf, and the giving of the signet ring, robe and sandals, signifies restoration. He wanted his son to know that he was forgiven and accepted as his son once again. This forgiveness symbolizes the love God has for you and me. Whenever you fall, you can come back to the Father. God will completely restore your life, including your finances.

The above is an excerpt from Financial Empowerment: Realign Your Finances to God’s Will by Pamela Carmichael. You can obtain a copy from Amazon.com

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Managing Money is a Matter of Faith: 4 Keys to Thrive Financially

Financial Empowerment, Financial Success

“It is not how much you have but what you do with it that matters. If you consistently take positive action with the money you have, it will increase. Managing money is a matter of faith. It’s not only about being practical.” –Pamela Carmichael

When you manage your finances, you are putting your faith to work. You are acting out of the belief that what you are doing will bring increase and be in your best interest. However the opposite is true, archetypally those who don’t manage their finances are either afraid that they will do the wrong thing, they just don’t want to have the responsibility or they lack the knowledge and understanding of how money works.

The Parable of the Talents Jesus spoke to illustrate what the kingdom of Heaven is like is filled with principles of sound money management. It shows what God expects us to do with the money and other resources he has entrusted to us. From this we can learn a few things about money and faith:

What TO DO to Manage Your Money Well

Take Action and Consistent Action

Whatever you have now, is what God knows you have the ability to manage (Matt. 25:15). No matter how little or how much you have make good use of it. If you are not sure how to manage the money you have, the least you should do is start saving. Then take some time to learn about money and as you gain knowledge and seek God for direction, do business with that money.

Immediate action is necessary because as is often said and is true, procrastination is the thief of time and (I will add) of income or financial increase. There is, right now in the world, no such thing as a good time. Now is the time to act. When you don’t take action or delay working on your finances, you get lazy, comfortable and come up with all sorts of excuses why not to do anything. This often leads to the unexpected and undesired loss of your money! So manage it and start now.

But don’t just start and then stop. Managing your personal finances is an ongoing work. You have to keep at it. You have to review what you’ve done, determine if your actions have been profitable or unprofitable and where necessary make adjustments. Reviewing helps you to learn what works and what doesn’t so that as you make adjustments you are improving your possibilities of financial success!

Use What You Have Even If Uncertain Of the Outcome

Managing money is a faith walk. Why? Because as your work, you have no guarantee that what you are doing will be profitable. You don’t have a definitive forecast that your money will increase because of specific actions you may take. One investment or the other may or may not be profitable. This is well said in Eccl. 11: 6 (NLT) “Plant your seed in the morning and keep busy all afternoon, for you don’t know if profit will come from one activity or another—or maybe both.”

Managing money is a matter of faith. Why? If you trust God and seek or ask him for wisdom he will give it to you (James 1:5). However, the Lord’s way of managing doesn’t always fit into the normal way of doing business or managing money. His instructions will put you to the test! You won’t know if what you are doing will work but because the Lord is your guide when you will act on it, He will help you manage well and receive increase.

Think of it, who would have taught that fishing in the day and near the shore would yield such an increase but as Peter obey, he caught more fish than he could handle (Luke 5: 1-11)! And then again, the need for taxes arise and Jesus tells Peter that the first fish he catches is going to give him what he needs to pay the bill (Matthew 17: 27).

What NOT to do to Manage Your Money Well

Don’t be irresponsible

Too often in the body of Christ, we drop the ball in the money game. We either plan but don’t act or we fail on both ends to plan and to take action. Sadly, many of us don’t manage our money and then when life’s troubles come and we have no clue what to do, we cry out to God for help. Please, in love I say this, but we need to stop looking for bail out plans from God.
God is indeed a wonderful Father and Provider and He will provide your need when you don’t see a way out. A testimony of his faithfulness to his children – he has done so for me at times when I had no other help. BUT I have had to learn and develop good and sound financial management skills. I have recognized that he wants me (and you too) to manage well what he has given us and to use it the bring honor to him.

Please, don’t expect that if you mismanage your resources that He will be pleased about it. Yes, He is a loving Father and as He sees your need He will help you but he expects more from you. He wants you to be a productive and creative manager of the money and other resources he has given you so that you will grow – not only financially but in other areas of your life.

God is not pleased with those who don’t even make the effort to manage well. Look at the word of God, the master was angry with the one who did nothing with the money he was given. So angry that he ordered it be taken away from him and given to the one who obviously had managed his well, made a good return and was given a bonus for his work! God is looking for those who are able (and He knows are), and who are action takers. Will you take action with what you have been given?

Don’t let the fear stop you from acting

No matter where you live or what you do, there is uncertainty in the world. Today the stock markets are up, tomorrow they are down; frankly is a yo-yo season each day. Gone are the days of decent interest rates on savings or money market accounts. We are in an era where we have to be creative about how to make our money grow. Nothing is guaranteed but that does not mean you should clam up and do nothing. The benefit or the advantage of you as a Christian is that you have the Lord’s spirit to guide you – you have the Holy Spirit advantage and if you take His lead you will succeed.

Worrying or having fear that you will lose money will likely lead to you losing it! If you don’t act on what you have, the little you have will likely be taken from you in ways you don’t even expect.

Connected to your fear that your will lose money is likely a skewed view of those who are rich. Often times our preconceived ideas of what the rich do or don’t do and how they acquire their wealth hinders our own financial progress. Why? Because we are caught up with judging others even though we don’t know their story. We make generalizations about those who have wealth without knowing them. Instead, we should try to learn from those who excel in money matters and implement the good practices that will yield good results for us.

Benefits of good money management

I know that what I have wrote may be tough to read or accept, but out of love I have shared this. When you manage your money well, you will gain tremendously more than money. I want you to keep these in mind as you take steps to take better care of your finances:

1. God is pleased with you when He looks at how well you manage the money He has given you. God shows his pleasure not only by rejoicing and celebrating with us but by giving us more – prosperity and responsibility.

2. You’ll have less stress. Your well-being – mental, emotional and physical – will be improved. When you manage your money, you understand the intricacies of it – you know what you have and what you don’t, you also know what is coming up – ins and outs. This eliminates wondering and stressing and keeps you in a more restful state. Even when challenging times or unexpected events occur that have a negative impact on your money, you exude confidence not in yourself but in God whose faithfulness you have seen as you practice good money habits.

3. You will have financial increases. There is likely to be increase – more money – as you learn to save and invest your resources and make a return on the investments you makes.

4. You will give freely. It will be easier to give to others because you will have what is needed to help do a good work in someone else’s life

5. Your lifestyle choices will expand. Better money management will lead to improved standard of living with more flexibility to use some of what you have to fulfill life goals e.g. a house, education for yourself or someone else, pay for travel or other life experiences.

6. Your credit ratings will improve. Well managed money opens doors for you to borrow. You will likely find that as you manage and you meet your current obligations in a timely manner – you will have a better credit score and/or lenders will come knocking at your door. That does not mean that you should borrow on a whim. However, it means that if needed esp. for business purposes, the ability to borrow becomes easier.

7. Life planning will be easier. You will be able to make life plans with a little more freedom because you know what you have and you know what you can afford to do. Planning becomes less frustrating and intimidating and you are better able to link your life goals with your financial goals and current resources.

CONCLUSION

God has given you the ability to create wealth and He expects you to manage and increase all that he has given to you. If you practice good money management you will experience financial increase. Therefore, you and I need to do what we have to do – manage our resources, do business and have the faith that as we take action, God will reward and cause our wealth to increase.

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5 Lessons I Learned While Working Towards One Goal

Financial Empowerment, Financial Success, Success Keys

In recent months, I have been in a one-focus mode. I have spent most of my time and energy to one goal – to complete the Financial Empowerment Workbook. I had attempted – over the years – to write this workbook but kept putting it off. Now, I am excited to share this good news with you: The Financial Empowerment Workbook is finally finished!

As I reflected on this finishing point, I realized how much I benefited from this long journey. So apart from celebrating this milestone with you, I want to share a few life lessons I learnt along the way.

Any goal worth doing will take time.

Success doesn’t come overnight – although it may appear that way to those looking from the outside. A friend’s observation after completing this third book was, “Pam, you’re moving slow but steady.” And that’s true!

I can’t rush everything. You can’t rush everything either. Although, I would (and I am sure you would too) love some things in life to move along a little faster. But the reality is our plans don’t always happen within the time frame we want them to. However, if we keep at it we will eventually achieve the desired success.

It’s okay to question yourself.

Yes, it’s okay just don’t question to the point where you convince yourself to give up! Throughout the years of attempting to write the workbook, I wondered at times if it was worth the effort to even try. The thought of forgetting about this book or doing a different book sure did cross my mind. Now that it has been released, I am glad I did it. I am amazed at the positive reviews and encouraging words I have received thus far. I am eager to continue sharing the book with those who need help managing their personal finances.

Take breaks, you will need them.

I had plans to finish the workbook by July, then by October but then it didn’t happen until November and even then there was still some outstanding items needing further edits. In the midst of the goal, I had to take breaks, some planned (like a family vacation) and others not planned or welcomed (like back pains). Whether the break you take is planned or forced on you, embrace the time to reset and refresh yourself. When you start again, you’ll do so from a position of new strength.

Grow in the journey.

Although I delayed writing the workbook, during the time I wasn’t writing I was learning. I read books, studied courses and spoke at events on personal finance and of course gleaned from my experiences and those of others. With this, I gained more knowledge and improved my writing. Also, as I studied the word of God, I gained a greater understanding on money matters from God’s perspective.

No goal is a success without the personal growth of the goal-achiever. You need to be willing to learn from the setbacks, failures, frustrations, wins and joys that are a natural part of living and achieving anything significant.

Remain connected to God.

When working steadily at your goal, you may sometimes experience frustration, doubt, and other negative emotions especially when life isn’t going as you’d hope. Key to all this goal getting is to have faith-based goals that are aligned to God’s purpose for you and to your core values. Such goals will cause you to remain in Christ who will give you the strength, wisdom and tenacity to keep going towards your dream.

One thing I am sure of is that whether your goals take a few months, a year, two years, or 14 years, when you rely on God, He will be your Help. He will concrete your plans (Prov. 16:9).

On a final but important point, whether you’re entering into a New Season in life or celebrating a New Year there is always the opportunity to reset or to restart. Each day brings with it new hope for the future. Each new day brings newness and opportunities. You may have paused on a goal that is now long overdue or you may be working steadily at it. Whatever place you’re at in life, don’t give up.

To reset means to make God your first priority by doing things His way. To do this you have to get His perspective on life and understand His plans for you. But keep this in mind – His plans for you are always better than what you think they are. On doing this, take time out to review and rewrite your plans – turn a new page in your life’s story and trust God to give you the grace to fulfill your destiny.

I’d love to hear from you. What lessons have you learnt while working towards your goals? What do you do to keep focused on your goals?

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Defeat Debt: 3 Areas You Can Conquer

Financial Empowerment, Financial Success

Debt is a burden many face but not one that you should have to constantly carry. My heart’s desire is to live free from debt and to be financial empowerment. This is my prayer for you as well as for me.

If I were to ask you what your financial concern is, you would like say DEBT. There isn’t a person who doesn’t want to be free from its clutches.

So I thought I should at least write more about debt. However, the more I thought about it I realized that debt can affect us not just financially (or physically), but emotionally and spiritually.

If you recall the men that followed after David, they were in the deep Ds – in debt, in distress and discontented (1 Sam 22:2). Does this sound familiar? Do you sometimes wish the principal plus interest payments would go away? Or at times do you feel constrained by the debt load you have? Maybe you think at times that God is far away and not interested in your financial problems. Sometimes you may even get angry or frustrated about your debt situation.

I understand how debt can be so hard on you. But there is hope for financial freedom. With this in mind, I have spent some time away from writing and created a video series called Defeat Debt: 3 Areas You Can Conquer which I am excited to share with you. To view it, please click here.

The aim of this free Defeat Debt video series is to address the three areas of debt (physical/financial, emotional and spiritual) by not only explaining the impact of debt on your life but highlighting different steps you can take to reduce and/or to get out of debt.

Please head over the this FREE video series – Defeat Debt: 3 Areas You Can Conquer – and start working towards defeating you debt and moving towards financial empowerment.

Once you’ve watch it, take action – do something, no matter how small it may seem to move towards debt free living. Also remember those who may be in a similar position to you and share the video link with family and friends.

My hope you will benefit greatly from the video series by implementing steps to rid yourself of debt and start the journey to financial empowerment God’s way!

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God Is Your Financial & Everything-You-Need Source – Part II

Financial Empowerment, Financial Success

The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein. For He has founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the waters. —Psalm 24:1–2

It is perfectly logical to assume that a wise and competent Creator would provide for the needs of His creatures in their various stages of growth. —Charles Fillmore, Prosperity

Have you ever asked yourself, Who is my source? If not, now is a good time to do so. So, who is my source? Is it my job or business income—or is it God? Money is such a personal thing that we often fail to recognize that the money we hold in our hands is not ours.

Perhaps you work hard and deserve to be paid for your services. However, you may think your education, talent, creativity, good opportunities, or even your good looks brought what you have.

But again, I ask, Who is your source? Being a good Christian, you may likely answer that God is your source, but do you really believe that?

I’ve had to ask myself this question a few times in my life—when money seemed limited, when I had to juggle figures to see how I could best meet my needs when no money seemed to be in sight, yet bills were due. I’ve even asked this question when times were good and I enjoyed abundance.

So who is your source when times are good and all seems well but trouble comes and all your savings and income suddenly dry up? Do you trust God only when you have enough or live in abundance? Or do you trust Him even when you don’t know where the money is coming from?

WHY WE DON’T TRUST GOD AS OUR SOURCE

What causes us not to trust God as our source? What are some of the effects of limiting God and not seeing Him as our source?

In the previous post, we discussed three reasons but today we will look at why we should trust God.

TRUSTING GOD AS OUR SOURCE
By definition a source is any thing or place from which something comes, arises, or is obtained; origin (See http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/source?s=t). God is the origin from which all life flows. Psalm 24:1 says that the earth belongs to God, everything in it and everyone who lives on it. All is God’s (Deut. 10:14; Job 41:11; Ps. 50:12; 89:11).
So how do you view your God? Is He the origin of all you need? Is He the One from whom your needs will be met daily? Or do you still think He is limited in His ability to provide for you? If so, you need to examine the Word and see how you can align your will to God’s Word and fully understand that He is your source.

• God, the Creator, prepared for the needs of His children beforehand. From the beginning, the One who created us has been the source of all our needs. First, He designed this world for us to live in. In His love for us, He planted a garden with food, clothing, water, shelter, gold, and precious stones. The sin of Adam brought upon us the curse of hard work and poverty—by the sweat of our brows we eat (Gen. 3:17–20). But faithful as He is, God did not take away His provision from us. From creation until now we see His faithfulness in providing for all who live on this earth.

Moreover, for those who believe and confess Christ as Lord and Savior, His Word promises over and over again that He will take care of all our needs and grant the desires of our hearts (Ps. 21:2; 37:4). Yet when we face financial difficulties, we often become fearful and think God’s resources have dried up. We always need to remember that God is the source of all our needs.

• “As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue” (2 Peter 1:3). What a wonderful promise! God has given you more than you need to enjoy life and live a godly life before Him. God wants to give you not just enough but more than enough to be a blessing to others. Second Corinthians 9:8 says that God will cause you to have more than you need so you can give toward good works. The Word of God emphasizes that God will supply both what you need in your life today and what you need for the future. Regardless of your need, God gives to you when you ask. The Father God knows what you need and will provide (Matt. 6:31–32).

• If God has taken the time and effort to number the hairs on each person’s head, don’t you think He has all the details of your life worked out (Luke 12:7)? If He has not only given great care to determine how many hairs are on your head, but has also numbered each of them; don’t you think He knows what your financial position is? He has said that you are more valuable to Him than many sparrows. He takes care of the animals, but He takes greater care of every human being created in His image. God had all your needs figured out long before you knew about them, so don’t worry.

• “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Yes, you probably know Philippians 4:19 all too well. If God says He will, then He will. Scripture is filled with promise after promise that God will take care of you. The psalmist said that as a youth and throughout his years on earth, he did not see the righteous and their children beg for food (Ps. 37:25). The righteous includes you! You and your children shall never beg for food because God in His faithfulness as the source of all good things will provide for you.

TRUST HIM
In this world, relying on ourselves alone is signing up for certain failure. God has promised in His Word that He will meet our needs and provide for us along life’s journey. If we trust Him, He will surely make life good for us. If we trust Him, we will have peace regardless of the turmoil going on around us. When hope fails for others, our trust in God will keep the hope in us alive, and we will see nothing as impossible or hopeless. If we trust Him, we will always remember that He who promised us many blessings is faithful to perform the word He spoke to His people. When we trust God as our source, we will experience not only His peace but also His provision.

Remember, the starting point of all you have, all you need, all you will possess, and all you will be in life is God. He is the stream from which all things flow. Your income is not the starting point of your provision; God is.

This article was excerpted and adapted from Financial Empowerment: Realign Your Finances to God’s Will. Would you like to read more and experience change in your finances as you follow God’s word, then click here to buy your copy of Financial Empowerment: Realign Your Finances to God’s Will.

Do you already have a copy? Great! Do you want to go deeper in your commitment to God and strengthen your decision to realign your finances to His will? In the near future, I will be offering a companion book study entitled “Financial Empowerment Workbook: How to Realign Your Finances to God’s Will”. Be sure to keep visiting and sign up for updates to keep you informed of future events, workbooks and coaching programs.

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God Is Your Financial & Everything-You-Need Source

1 Comment / Financial Empowerment, Financial Success

The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein. For He has founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the waters. —Psalm 24:1–2

It is perfectly logical to assume that a wise and competent Creator would provide for the needs of His creatures in their various stages of growth. —Charles Fillmore, Prosperity

Perhaps you work hard and deserve to be paid for your services. However, you may think your education, talent, creativity, good opportunities, or even your good looks brought what you have.

But again, I ask, Who is your source? Being a good Christian, you may likely answer that God is your source, but do you really believe that?

WHY WE DON’T TRUST GOD AS OUR SOURCE

What causes us not to trust God as our source? What are some of the effects of limiting God and not seeing Him as our source?

We Don’t Think We Will Prosper

Our life’s experiences have affected the way we think about our God, the Creator and our heavenly Father. The distorted thinking of some Christians has caused them to believe they will never prosper. The self talk of many is that nothing will ever work well for them—in their workplace, business, finances, ministry, or personal relationships. Yet the Bible says that whatever we – the blessed people of God – do shall prosper (Ps. 1:3). When nothing works, our faith in God dwindles and sometimes dies completely. We fail to realize that we believed more in our failure than in the Word of God. If our expectation is that nothing we do will prosper, then nothing will. But if our expectation is that we will prosper, then we will. Our faith must match our words and actions. Then God will meet us at the level of our expectations.

We Don’t Believe His Word

Usually the problem is that our talk and actions do match our inward beliefs. Though we say that we trust God to meet all our needs, we don’t really believe this. We don’t think God is able to do what He says in His Word. Our faith in God is fickle when it comes to trusting Him to provide for us, and this fickleness is most evident when we face troubled times. We pray much and say we believe God, but when we leave our closets and go back to the world/reality, we allow the circumstances around us to overwhelm us with defeating thoughts. Our thoughts and actions prove that we don’t trust Him. We take matters into our own hands—which usually results in things getting worse. Part of trusting God as our source means asking Him for direction, but often we go ahead and do what we think is best without consulting God and/or seeking the wise counsel of those He has placed around us.

Worry Is Our Friend

Worry is often the companion of many believers. It’s just proof of our lack of faith in God. Worry shows that we believe more in our circumstances than in our God. We constantly worry about how to meet our obligations or where the next meal will come from—or we create negatives about how hard getting our next job will be. The Lord admonishes us not to worry about anything, but to pray and give thanks to Him (Phil. 4:6–7). But we worry, and as such, we have no peace of mind and become irritable with our loved ones instead of enjoying the blessings we do have. If we took heed to God’s Word, we would have peace in the midst of every storm, whether financial or not. This peace would keep us from being anxious.

TRUST HIM

In this world, relying on ourselves alone is signing up for certain failure. God has promised in His Word that He will meet our needs and provide for us along life’s journey. If we trust Him, He will surely make life good for us. If we trust Him, we will have peace regardless of the turmoil going on around us. When hope fails for others, our trust in God will keep the hope in us alive, and we will see nothing as impossible or hopeless. If we trust Him, we will always remember that He who promised us many blessings is faithful to perform the word He spoke to His people. When we trust God as our source, we will experience not only His peace but also His provision.

Be Blessed.

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How to Thrive Through Financial Difficulties

Financial Empowerment, Financial Success

When Isaac planted his crops that year, he harvested a hundred times more grain than he planted, for the Lord blessed him. He became a very rich man, and his wealth continued to grow. Genesis 26:12-13 (NLT)

Are you in a financial famine? Or do you say like many do, “I need more money.”? The above scripture often touches our hearts during financial difficulties and rightly so. It reminds us that God is still in control even when the world around us is falling apart. It also reminds us that we are not forgotten by God and that He can and is able to bring us out of any financial trouble we may be facing.

This account of Isaac’s encounter with God occurs during an economic hardship that affected many. There are a few principles we can take from this part of God’s word that would help during challenging financial times as well as when we experience financial increases.

Be open to hear from God. Be open to hear the most unusual and seemingly illogical instructions.

Gen. 26:2 -3, “Then the Lord appeared to him and said: “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of which I shall tell you. ³Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father.”

God wants to be an integral part of your life. Even in times of financial difficulties God wants to relate to you and to help you through the rough roads. He wants to encourage and direct you so that you would prosper through life.

As God speaks to Isaac He gave a command with the promise of His presence and of His blessing, “I will be with you and bless you” (Gen.26:3).

Just as He did with Isaac, He is willing to do with you. He wants to direct your life and be with you all the way as you carry out His will and in the process of life bring blessings to you.

[Tweet “Stay connected to God through prayer and His word; and wait to hear from Him.”]

Obey. Do what God tells you to do; even when it doesn’t make sense to you.

The blessings God gives goes beyond the person and the material. They extend beyond your generation. Imagine that – because of your relationship with God your family is blessed for generations. As God’s oath to Abraham was transferred to his son Isaac and to Isaac’s descendants, so does His blessings to you reach forward to your family for generations to come.

[Tweet “One reason God blesses us is because of our obedience to Him”] “because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.” Isaac learned that well and obeyed God and stayed where he instructed him to (Gen. 26:5-6).

Think about this. Does it make sense? Imagine you have the opportunity to go where the economic climate is better. Or you have a job offer or business opportunity opened to you in another country and the prospects indeed look promising. As you ponder and pray about it, God tells you – “Don’t go; stay here with your family.” What would be your first response? Human as we are, we would think much about it and even question God. Although we know God wants what is best for us when a good thing comes along we might think that God is holding us back. In some cases, we may even think that it is the enemy trying to dissuade us from receiving the blessings of God. This is a tough one. But obedience to God is always best. Obedience to God is key to life and financial success.

Speak the truth at all times.

I like the Bible. It shows how much God is willing to relate to us even in our sinful state. The relationship of imperfect man with a perfect and loving God rings throughout. Sometimes when we are in difficulty (like Isaac being in a strange land) we tend to put up defence mechanisms to protect ourselves. From a financial perspective, during difficult we may lie to the creditors or avoid taking their phone calls. But there is no need to do this when God is with you.

When Isaac’s lie was discovered, it actually resulted in his safely being guaranteed by the very people he feared would kill him. Telling your creditor about your loss of income and your inability to repay as required can actually open the door for some relief. I have heard of cases where the debt has been cancelled! The creditor may be able to give you a longer grace period or offer an alternative that would help until you get back on your feet financially.

Don’t be afraid to be honest. God will honour that.

Take action to create wealth.

Gen.26:12-14 really encourages me to move forward with my goals regardless to what the economic forecasters as saying. [Tweet “If God placed you where you are now, He will prosper you there.”] You don’t have to wait for the external conditions to improve or change in order to make an internal shift and take decisive action. If you wait you will likely never achieve your goals.

Isaac’s action to plant during the scarcity was a step of faith which God honoured. Not only did he reap 100% of his crop but his cattle and his household increased so much that his neighbours noticed it. When you move forward in faith – whether to change your career, work towards a promotion that doesn’t seem likely or start a new business or even find an extra income stream – God will prosper you and those around you will see it too!

Avoid relationship conflicts.

When you begin to prosper (while others are still facing financial challenges) not everyone will be happy about your successes. Some will want to learn from you while others will envy you and try to sabotage you in some way. This is what happened to Isaac. Each time he succeeded in digging a well and finding water – a much-needed commodity then – his “friendly” neighbours came to stake their claim on it.

The blessing on your life may cause others to envy (Gen.26:14), to fear you (Gen.26:16), to quarrel with you, to steal from you and to try to frustrate you (Gen.26:19-22). You may experience conflict in one way or another with friends or family members. People may think that your good fortune is undeserving. You may have ‘sudden’ friction between you and others that didn’t exist before. You may find that people just attach themselves to you to get what they can from you and not because they genuinely care about you. It’s unfortunate but this is how some respond.

The important step you must take in times like these is to let go and let God and not to react rashly to what others are doing. Isaac gave up what he and his servants had worked hard for but in the end they prevailed. So don’t despair. Don’t fight your enemies. God will make room for you and make you fruitful where you are (Gen. 26:22).

Finally, be patience, peace (shalom) will come.

The time will come as you continue to prosper and you handle relationship issues well that God will cause even your enemies to be at peace with you. Why? Your godly response to them (even when they do you wrong), will cause them to acknowledge that the Lord is with you (Gen. 26:28-29). They will want to make amends with you. Being at peace with your enemies will make the financial successes you receive even more pleasant.

Isaac’s situation takes us through the stages from financial struggle to success giving us some insight in how we should respond in times like these. The essence of this is that we should have a relationship with Christ, follow His leading, take action and live out the Christ life as He want us to.

[Tweet “What have you done or are you doing to thrive through financially challenging times?”]

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Financial Empowerment for FREE!

Financial Empowerment, Financial Success

Smashwords have put on a reading celebration this week from Mar 02, 2014 to Mar 08, 2014. You will find many titles available at discounted prices or for free during their Read an E-Book Week promotion.

This is a great opportunity for you to grab a copy of my book, Financial Empowerment: Realign Your Finances for God’s Will. It will be available in various formats for FREE for this week only.

Lots of other authors will have their books available through this promotion so now is the time to stock up on new or favorite titles.

Financial Empowerment will help you to manage your personal finances using biblical and practical solutions whether you are challenged in this area or not. So if you haven’t received your copy or if you’d like to gift it to someone, please use the coupon code RW100 when you checkout.

Remember, this pricing is available only on Smashwords.com and you can use the coupon to get Financial Empowerment: Realign Your Finances for God’s Will for FREE through to Saturday, March 8^th, 2014.

Once you’ve read Financial Empowerment: Realign Your Finances for God’s Will please let me know what you think of it by leaving a review on Smashwords or a comment here on my blog.

I pray that you and others will benefit tremendously by applying the principles discussed in this book.

Thanks & Happy Reading.

Here to your financial empowerment God’s Way,

Pamela C

P.S. Don’t forget to spread the word to friends and family.

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Are You Eating Your Seed? Part I

1 Comment / Financial Empowerment, Financial Success

Eating your money

Recently after making a purchase the Holy Spirit confronted me about it? Why? I had just left home pondering over making a small but reasonable purchase in advertising that would help me spread the word about Financial Empowerment: Realign Your Finances to God’s Will. I even had the option of taking a trial period but didn’t. What did I do instead? I spent money (more than the cost of the advertising) without hesitation on something else. I convinced myself that it was good because I was celebrating a special event but at the same time it was short-lived.

I realized how easy it is to make frivolous or unplanned purchases. Those type of purchases that have no lasting value and eat away at your future. I noticed how hesitant I can be at times when it comes to investing in my future via savings, business or career building. Do you experience that sometimes? I guess what the Apostle Paul said even applies how we manage money – what we should do we don’t and what we shouldn’t do we do. Thankfully by the time I reached home, I decided to make the investment in promoting my book and trust God that it would help reach those who need it.

I think that we can all identify with making these types of unplanned purchases. It’s an ongoing battle to keep focused on our goals. The problem with these out-of-order purchases is the negative impact on our future. It’s like a farmer eating all his seed. That wouldn’t be right now, would it? But what really is your seed? To the farmer the seed has potential to do be (1) food and (2) income generation and reinvestment. So to us, the seed is money.

For us, the seed (money) carries the same potential. Whatever money we have can be divided into (1) food and consumables for our daily living and (2) investment for our future.

Generally, most of our money tends to go towards food or bread. But do you understand what bread is?

Bread is a by-product of the seed. It is derived from the seed
Bread is for instant gratification or enjoyment
It’s a consumable item to be used now or within a short period. If not used within a specified time it becomes of no use or value to the consumer. e.g. Bread spoils within a few days; other foods if not consumed after a specified period are not safe for consumption; electronics or cars or other items loose value with use or deteriorate or become obsolete
It has no long term future benefit

In summary, bread has a now benefit not a future one.

On the other hand, the seed also have another benefit if treated differently. If it is planted instead of consumed, then the gains can be far-reaching. For the farmer, a planted seed means future profit or income. What we give, save or invest is the seed we are planting for our future. When we plant our money it grows, increases in value or amount, brings a return to you or benefits you.

What you give grows. Giving doesn’t seem to have an initial benefit but it gives much needed blessings to the giver. The kind of blessings money cannot buy.

Bring all the tithes (the whole tenth of your income) into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and prove Me now by it, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. –Malachi 3:10

Give, and [gifts] will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will they pour into [the pouch formed by] the bosom [of your robe and used as a bag]. For with the measure you deal out [with the measure you use when you confer benefits on others], it will be measured back to you. –Luke 6:38

What you invest grows. Investing can provide streams of income that is expected or unexpected.

His master said to him, Well done, you upright (honorable, admirable) and faithful servant! You have been faithful and trustworthy over a little; I will put you in charge of much. Enter into and share the joy (the delight, the blessedness) which your master enjoys. –Matthew 25:21

Then you should have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received what was my own with interest. –Matthew 25:27

If you give, save, invest the seed it will benefit your life. If you eat all the seed, it is consumed and gone forever and not able to provide any future benefit. You and I have a choice.

The Lord also pointed out why we so easily eat our seed, that is, waste your financial future:

(1) Fear of the unknown. In my case, I wasn’t sure of the outcome of my investment in advertising. I would pay now but would have to wait to see the results of doing this type of business – if I would gain any exposure at all, if it would convert into sales and other connections. However, with frivolous purchases the thought about our financial future often does not come until after the purchase as been made!

(2) The strong urge for instant gratification. When we buy and consume something we wanted (clothing, food, electronics, etc) we receive an immediate tangible item in exchange for our money. Although these things are short-lived, the pull for instant gratification is what compels us to spend. Unfortunately the feeling quickly dies along with the item we purchased.

This is a situation most of us find ourselves in. We are trying to balance the financial scales which often topple over to the spending side. Even though we have dreams or goals that require an initial outlay of our time, money and efforts we often spend for instant gratification or temporal gain rather than for delayed satisfaction and a better future.

Not only did the Lord bring this to light from a personal perspective but spiritually as it relates to building the kingdom of God. You see, looking at my scenario, the investment in advertising was not just about selling books but about (1) sharing the message of the good news (2) helping people in the body of Christ move from financial struggle to success and (3) encouraging others to serve God wholeheartedly with their money.

Not making such an investing in the kingdom of God displeases the Lord and negatively impacts the work of the gospel. Often times the toss-up between spending on ourselves and making an investment in our future and in God’s kingdom result in our seed being eaten. Why? We want to please ourselves more and think we are deserving of or entitled to whatever we want.

But there is a danger in this. How can we avoid eating up our seed? Next week’s post will explore this.

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3 Steps to be Happy In Your Work

Financial Empowerment

Image credit: andreypopov / 123RF Stock Photo

Work need not be so boring or terrible that you don’t look forward to it. Work is a gift from God and is meant to be a blessing to you. God created you to experience fulfillment through work. You shouldn’t dread your work or try to find ways to avoid it. You should be looking forward to work every day.

I believe that if you are going to spend the majority of your time working, you should be enjoying it (Eccl. 5:18–19). God says He will give you the desires of your heart, and if working in a particular field is your desire, He is willing to grant you that blessing. The highlight about working at what you love is that it brings out the best in you and glorifies God. You may often shrug off your desires as being fickle, yet those very desires may be God’s will for you. Moses desired to help his fellow Israelites, but went about it the wrong way. Then forty years later God called him to go back and deliver his brothers from slavery. You may desire to do something bigger than you, and you may have even tried to do it and failed. Keep seeking God and keep trying — your dream will happen in due course.

Examine Your Life

If you have done your best to honor God in your work but are unhappy with the work you are doing, it’s time to examine your life. So what is bothering you about your work? Did you take the first work opportunity to arise, or did you prayerfully consider it before entering into that career or business choice? Do you need a career change? Have you constantly thought about doing something but lacked the courage to undertake it? Maybe you’ve thought of going back to school to improve your skills or start something new. Whatever it is, you need to either renew your mind-set about your work or change the work to the kind you love.

Find Your Calling

Considering that you spend more time working than doing any other activity, it would be beneficial to you and those you serve through your work to find and do the work you like. In other words, do the work that is your calling. Why? To reach your full potential in life or fulfill your destiny, which is all wrapped up in the work you do, you need to learn what your calling is.

To know your calling is to know what you’re gifted at doing. Your calling is what you dream. What is your vision or dream? If you are unsure what your calling is, consider this: The secret to finding your purpose is to identify what you enjoy doing so much that you would be willing to do it for free. Then develop yourself in that area and become really good at it so people are willing to pay you to do it. You will find that the thing you love doing the most, the thing that gets you all excited (while it doesn’t excite others), is where your calling lies. Knowing your purpose and living it out may not come overnight. For any dream to become a reality, you will need to work steadily at it (Eccl. 5:3). In working toward your dream, you may have put much effort into things you are not destined for and may have failed. But don’t give up. Success is often several trials and failures away. You should use any failure to propel you forward to try something new. Trying something new or reworking something you’ve tried before just might lead to the fulfillment of your dream and bring you great joy.

Seek God

Furthermore, if you want to know your purpose, you must know God and seek Him. It is God who created you, and no one knows you like He does. He knows exactly who you are, why you were born at this time, what resources you have available to you, and who you love. Since He created you and knows details about your life you don’t know yet, He’s the best source to go to for direction. He created you on purpose with a purpose; to find out what that is, ask Him.

Consider seeking God concerning the desire in your heart and determine from Him what you need to do to accomplish it. I have a friend who had a great career in the hospitality industry, yet he had a desire in his heart to open a business in a completely different industry. Doing this seemed illogical, since he was already settled in his career. Furthermore, he had a family to consider. Yet the desire did not go away, and he sought God about what he should do. God gave him the direction he needed and through a minister confirmed that the desire of his heart was not against the will of God and that he should go full speed ahead to start this new business. That was the green light from God he had been waiting for. He went ahead in this new venture and today is happily enjoying a flourishing business. He still has the opportunity to work in the hospitality industry whenever possible.

When you love the work you do you will not only create wealth but also enjoy a more productive and happy life.

What other steps can you take to enjoy your work?

The above excerpt is from my book Financial Empowerment: Realign Your Finances to God’s Will. From September 1^st to 17^th 2013, the ebook version will be on sale for 0.99c. Also you have a chance to win a free Kindle Fire (no purchase necessary) – visit http://bit.ly/Christian_Books for more details.

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