Some wise words from my dear friend Denise whom I consider to be very wise. What is the wisest thing she is constantly saying? This. “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” James 1:5
Denise’s perspective: The US economy is HUGE. It REALLY takes a LOT to rattle it significantly.
The news media gets their ‘thing’ from *being* negative. If 4 economists are positive, they’ll give air time to the one who is negative. You’ve seen this in good times, yes? We’ve been fed so much negativity, I wonder, do we really know what’s going on?
If the US economy does hit a bump in the road… let’s look at history. The large US economy and the enterprising Americans pull out of it in just a few years.
But the REAL issue isn’t the US economy, it’s our respective PERSONAL economies! It’s one’s own budget that is *real* concern, yes? So if you can pick up a part time job, or cut back your expenses, then YOU can make it ok. THAT is under YOUR control. You can ACT. (This mindset is what attracts me to Dave Ramsey so much. He’s part financial guy, part motivational speaker saying YOU CAN DO IT! And here’s how.)
The *fear* that the US economy will go down … FEAR is not to be the Christian’s constant companion, right? But the media feeds us FEAR about the HUGE issue that we canNOT control. That’s paralyzing.
And for the Christian, the bottom line is: What is the Lord doing in MY life at THIS time? HE is our Jehovah Jireh, our provider. HE is the One whose perfect love casts out all fear. HE is the Friend who sticks closer than a brother. HE is the one who is scraping the dross off our lives. HE is the one who is pruning branches that aren’t bearing fruit. HE is the one who loves us more than we can understand. Trust HIM.
So my encouragement would be to:
Think locally (family budget), not nationally.
ACT where you can.
Pray for the Lord to fill you with His perfect love and cast out all fear.
Ask for the faith to trust Him more. (Faith is a gift, not something you can manufacture: see Eph. 2:8-10)Problem with the US economy? That can be *good* news where it encourages people to depend on Jesus more!
–Denise
Mama to 7 in Utah
and .. your thoughts?