Strapped for Cash?

2 Corinthians 5:7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)

Living by faith financially can be a wonderful thing. Back in Yeshua's (Jesus') day, people didn't have savings and money market accounts, mutual funds, and IRA's. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that those things are bad to have. What I'm saying is that those of us who live without them have an opportunity -- an opportunity to see God provide in miraculous ways!

One month when we first came to Israel, we had reached the end of our finances on a consecutive number of unexpected crises. Now we had to pay our rent and our bank account was almost totally depleted and we were getting a little nervous. "Lord!" we cried. "We came here to Israel to be a light and to do your work, what's going on?! We need a miracle!"

I kid you not. The next day, our phone rang. Someone who didn't know a thing about our ministry called to let us know that while he had been traveling in Europe he met a woman who found out he was coming to the Land soon and gave him an envelope to give us as soon as he could. Wouldn't you know it, that money was the exact figure we needed and it came just in time to pay our rent.

It wasn't long before we realized that living by faith would become a way of life for us. After a few miracles like this one, we stopped getting nervous. We knew that God would always come through.

John Guest said that "It is remarkable to think that God has given us a partnership with him in directing the course of human events. It is extraordinary to realize that our prayer can change events and circumstances in the world around us. But what is just as remarkable is that when we pray, we change. More often than not we become the answer to our own prayers as we open up ourselves to God in prayer.

If you're struggling today, struggle no longer! God is faithful! Let's ask the Lord to help us begin to see our needs as opportunities to see His miracle-working power!

Copyright 1999-2024 Worthy Devotions. This devotional was originally published on Worthy Devotions and was reproduced with permission.

How to display the above article within the Worthy Suite WordPress Plugin.

[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]

As my wife and I have been redeployed to the United States for a season we’ve traveled over 150,000 miles since 2020. Vehicles which deliver the kind of distances we travel need regular oil changes to stay reliable. So, our vehicles have enjoyed innumerable pit stops.

As we continue to inspect our hearts and take spiritual inventory of our lives during this month of Elul in preparation for the fall feasts, we should stay particularly aware of Yeshua’s prediction in Matthew 24:12, “The love of many will grow cold.” He warned that a sign of the last days would be abounding lawlessness and that callousness and hardness of heart would characterize the end times. The evidence of this is everywhere.

Traditionally in Jewish spirituality, these 40 days of prayer and repentance beginning the 1st of Elul to Yom Kippur parallel the 40 days that Moses spent on the mountain [Exodus 34:28] pleading God’s forgiveness for Israel’s sin of creating and worshiping the golden calf. Interestingly, Psalm 27 is read each day of the month of Elul, along with the shofar blast in preparation for Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement).

As we continue our study for Elul, a month set apart for repentance in preparation for the fall feasts, we find a message hidden in the four Hebrew letters spelling the name of this special month. Alef-Lamed-Vav-Lamed form an “acronym” for a well-known passage in the Song of Solomon: Ani l-dodi v-dodi li or in English, “I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine.”

I happened (on rare occasion) the other day to see a CNN headline, “Health Officials Brace for Three Major Viruses this Fall”. Immediately, I thought, “Not again!” Yet, scouring the headlines, it now appears that several colleges are instituting mask mandates even though there isn’t a case of illness yet. While the world is being prepared for an “outbreak” of disease, I’m hoping we may learn a lesson from history so that, perhaps, we’ll see an “outbreak” of revival!

As we enter this season of Teshuva (Repentance) during the month of Elul, we enter a unique season approaching the Fall Feasts. This month initiates a 40-day countdown to Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), and is traditionally known as the time the King would visit His people.

As we continue our study of the men who followed David, another characteristic was their ability to war.They learned how to battle with both the right hand and the left hand for hurling stones. If you have ever thrown a ball, you know that you can aim effectively with your dominant hand — but try it with the opposite hand — it’s far more difficult to throw accurately.  But the men that followed David learned to throw with both arms effectively!  It must have taken months of training to develop such skill.