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In Matthew 6:24 it reads “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”
This past year of 2020, I made the decision to fill the holes in my life where God’s presence and principles were not as strong as they could be. One of those spaces were my finances. In all the 4 years of my college education, I did some type of work-study or project that allowed me to receive income while I was studying as a student. However, by receiving this income I was wasting my money and always spending it on things I didn’t need, which didn’t serve me. I knew I needed to save, to give tithes, to not let money dictate me, but I couldn’t see through the fog of that green money. I wanted to claim it. It was mine. Money had a hold on me. I didn’t have a hold on money. I couldn’t wrap my head around it. It’s like that saying that “you make time for what’s important to you”. Doing the right things with my money and giving it to God wasn’t important enough to me. I felt like I was giving something away.
In the month of September 2020, I decided that I wanted to press into God more, and really see all the ways my life could turn around within 4 months. In this, I decided to set aside 25 minutes every day in prayer with God. Seeking Him and asking for His daily guidance with my finances. As I began to do this, I was offered a part-time tutoring position, working from home. It was a decent amount of a salary, enough to keep some money in my pocket. But in my times of prayer with God, I chose to honor the little bit that I had come my way. I wanted to do it right this time around because I wanted more for my life, I wanted more of God in my life. Just because it was September didn’t mean I had to call quits for the year. It became an opportunity to invest in myself, by aligning my finances with God. I wanted God to show up and show out in my life!
So, this is what I did. I put aside my money to honor those in my life:
I became consistent with my tithes. Giving God my first fruits. Prov 3:9-10 ESV/ “Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the first fruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine."
I set aside money for my phone bill because I wanted to honor my parents with that.
Lastly, I set aside a set amount of money to save.
When we tithe and align our money with God, money not only pours into our bank accounts, but we are also blessed with our dreams, with our purpose, and in our favor with God. When we align with God in every area such as money, our lives are only going to prosper. God wants to do good for us when we have a heart for Him and His kingdom. Everything with God takes faith. My faith increased in God. I trusted that He would have far greater plans with my money than I ever could. All I had to do was trust him.
The three things that God put on my heart tremendously changed the way I think and handle my finances. Three results that I’ve already seen:
I actually have the money in my savings that allow me to pour into myself and my business.
I am able to start my journey as an entrepreneur because my mind is clear, my creativity has exploded, and I’m able to share more pieces of myself (hanging with friends, purchasing and not purchasing the right things...) in the right ways.
More people and opportunities have been placed on my path that helps me prosper and live the life I planned out for myself.
My take-aways:
God truly cares about the desires of our hearts. From every little thing to every big thing. He cares. He listens, but like any conversation, it takes two. We must allow ourselves to surrender, be vulnerable, and talk with God about everything. All the good, all the bad, and everything in the middle.
We will not only have an abundance of money coming our way, but prosperity in our entire lives, with our jobs, our relationships, our relationship with God, and so on. It’s a holy and righteous domino effect.