So, I hear the economy is in a down-spiral...It seems as though things are going hectic. And here we are, waiting once again for the government to decide to if they are going to bail out the failing economy.
I heard a preacher speak last night in regards to this. He basically said that some non-Christians he has spoken to are not really that tore up about the economy. Yes, they lost money, but they have a "oh well, what can I do about it?" He said he spoke to a man who lost about $6,000 dollars in the last couple of weeks, but the man simply said, "I have moved my money around and hopefully that will help. There's not much I can do about the loss, so I should focus on what I have." Yet, the preacher said, he has spoken to Christians who seem to have one hand on the remote and the other on the gun. It's almost as though it's the end of the world for them because they have lost money.
Of course, it's easy for me to say all of this because I don't have any money in any stocks or any money invested. But I wonder...
When did we lose faith in God? We say we are people of faith, and we honor and respect those "great men and women of faith", but honestly it seems as though faith has become a meaningless 5 letter word among Christians. Apparently some think that to have faith in God means to believe in Him, but even the devil believes in God and the demons shutter, I don't think we would call them "great men or women of faith". Faith isn't only about believing. In Hebrews 11, there is the great "Faith Chapter" where the writer of Hebrews presents many people from the Old Testament times. Each one begins with, "By Faith...". It was "by faith" that Moses stood up to the Pharaoh, it was "by faith" that he left the comfort of Egypt to live in the desert. It was "by faith" that he led the Israelites and crossed the Red Sea. Each and every person starts with "By Faith". Could it be that these people simply believed in God? Of course they did! Could it mean that they had faith that God would provide? Of course they did! But there is one thing we miss in this chapter. After each and every "by faith", there is an action that follows. It was by faith, because of faith, faith made them do this. Faith leads us to action. We can claim to have faith all day long, but until we live a faith that we proclaim then all is void.
What does this have to do with the economy? Well, not much. But it has everything to do with us. Perhaps if we take our eyes off of the stock market for one second, if we take our attention away from the economy, then we would once again see a God that is awesome and wonderful, and remember that this is not our home but we are aliens here. We have a far greater promise that what we see here. And yes, I know it's hard to remember that when you are buried deep in debt or stress or whatever is plaguing you, but if you have faith then 1) you trust that God will see you through and 2) you will pushed to some action for Him. I wonder if the writer of Hebrews were to write about your life, what would he write? "It was by faith that Bob, when he........" What follows next? What does your faith cause you to do? Do you say, "I have faith that God will take care of my bills" then sit on the couch and wait?
God is greater than this economy. God is more powerful than the stock market. And God has prepared a place for Christians to spend an eternity that is FAR GREATER than anything in this world. The question is, are you that person of faith?
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