Where do we go to find this hope and freedom? Where are we putting our hope that freedom will come? Can it really be called hope and freedom if the source is not God Creator, Jesus Redeemer, and Holy Spirit Guide? Where do we put our trust? Where are we looking? What or whom are we seeking? Is it possible to have genuine experiences of hope where we know our trust in God’s personhood, role as Father, and love as Creator is greater than our greatest financial pit?
We are going to discover all of these answers together.
I realise, some of you may be low on hope, as well as on financial freedom. Perhaps you have been watching and waiting for change but haven’t quite known what you are watching and waiting for. Perhaps poor financial habits have kept you from hope and freedom, and you feel at the end of your rope in both areas.
It is my “hope” that you will be awakened to the possibility of financial freedom and truly understand that God is not mean, disrespectful, or uncharitable. He is good, loving, and kind. He wants to lead you, guide you, and walk this journey with you.
So, just as I waited and watched for Hope to come, you too can watch and wait for God’s answers to come on your own spiritual and financial journeys. Watching and waiting—hoping—doesn’t mean you sit on your hands and do nothing. By no means! There is much to do in getting our financial houses in order and aligned with Christ. But this is all about working, discovering, and waiting together with Christ. This journey is about both the practical and the heart issues around money.
I want to leave you with these words from the late Eugene Peterson who writes about Psalm 130, and the hope we have as we watch and wait for God, like watchmen waiting for the morning.
Hoping does not mean doing nothing. It is not fatalistic resignation. It means going about our assigned tasks, confident that God will provide the meaning and the conclusions. It is not compelled to work away at keeping up appearances with a bogus spirituality. It is the opposite of desperate and panicky manipulations, of scurrying and worrying.
And hoping is not dreaming. It is not spinning an illusion or fantasy to protect us from our boredom or our pain. It means a confident, alert expectation that God will do what He said He will do. It is imagination put in the harness of faith. It is a willingness to let God do it His way and in His time.1
If you are willing to hope again, and enter a journey of trust and freedom, turn the page, because there is so much more to come.
| Freedom for Love’s Sake You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.Galatians 5:13 NIV Freedom to serve and to love others. The Apostle Paul reminds God’s people of the purpose of freedom. It is a calling. It is a grace given. It is not to be used to serve self, but to love others well. Perhaps it is time to think about financial freedom in the same light. Don’t use your financial freedom for selfish gain but rather serve one another humbly in love. Can you imagine the possibilities? Can you imagine the impossibilities? Dare we even say the words out loud because of what it would mean for our lives and finances, for our own ambitions? My mind is exploding with wonder and conviction. I don’t always live like this. I often think of how I can use my finances for my own gain, not for the betterment of my neighbour or my community. God help me. God help us. What does love look like when I use my financial freedom to serve others in love?I am free to love as I am set free from anxiety and worry around money.I am free to love using the tool of money because the money I manage is not mine to begin with. I am free to give without expecting anything in return because my focus is on loving God and on loving others in the same way Jesus did.I am free to give and serve in love because I trust God with the outcomes of this giving. I know my own needs are being met. I am free to serve others humbly with the resources I have and I don’t need anyone to know. How about you? Financial freedom as a means to serve others is very personal and manifests in different ways depending on personality, age, ability, community involvement, and many other factors. Here is what I recommend: take this verse and this question into your time with God and ask Him what this could look like in your life. What does love look like when you use your financial freedom to serve others in love? Write it out. Choose one practical idea from your list and commit to carrying it out. Ask God for the joy, trust, and confidence to do it. Then, stand back and be amazed by where financial freedom in Christ’s love will lead you. |
1Peterson, Eugene. A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship In An Instant Society. (Illinois: Intervarsity Press, 2021). 138.