Living With Loss: Devotions From Time Of GraceSample

Your wealth 

Nobody is immune from financial disaster. It can happen in so many ways—expensive health catastrophe, protracted loss of income to the family breadwinner, bad investments, war, uninsured natural catastrophe like flooding or fire, or collapse of the family business. Sometimes everybody in the whole country suffers financial loss through recession and depression.

The Lord never promised wealth and ease to all his children, but he did promise daily bread. People who are struggling financially really mean it when they pray the Lord’s Prayer. They should also not torment themselves that they are being punished by God. An Old Testament saint named Job suffered terrible losses of family, wealth, and health, and his unhelpful friends constantly tried to find the cause in some hidden evils in Job’s life: “Should not your piety be your confidence and your blameless ways your hope?” (Job 4:6).

No, our hope is not in our blameless ways. Our hope is in the mercy, kindness, power, and love of our God. Our hope is in the blameless ways of Christ our Savior. Forgiven of our sins, we no longer tremble in fear over the coming judgment, and we do not have to interpret our hardships as proofs of God’s anger.

In our times of severe financial stress, we will count on God’s providing. We will work very hard to rebuild, take our needs to him in prayer, and open our eyes to watch for his help.