The cycle of poverty can be broken by the power of God through the saving grace of Jesus Christ.
Some times a person’s financial failures can be like shipwrecks from the currents of life, leaving circumstances washed up on shore.
Many times, the cause is a poverty of spirit or mind that can lead to destructive ways of thinking that produce broken patterns of living.
If a person can overcome the poor thinking and the negative belief system, then the patterns can change and there can be freedom.
The truth of God’s word has a power stronger than any other power. Zechariah 8:12 says, “For the seed shall be prosperous, the vine shall give its fruit, the ground shall give her increase and the heavens shall give their dew. I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these.”
We see that God is the source, not anyone or anything else.
The following verse, v. 13, speaks of this source, when the Lord God himself speaks, “So I will save you, and you shall be a blessing. Do not fear. Let your hands be strong.”
When we trust that God is all-powerful, then we can believe that He will free us from the negative habits.
Psalm 37:39 “But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord: He is their strength in the time of trouble. And the Lord shall help them and deliver them. He shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in Him.”
When you know that God is your strength, you don’t have to be afraid.
People hoard things, because they are afraid. They hold on to things way too long, because they are afraid of not being able to replace them or get more things later.
There are emotional attachments to things that shouldn’t be there. But the power of faith in God, can break those ties, and loose the bonds that trap and imprison.
People are afraid to take a step of faith, because they are not putting their faith in an unfailing God, but in broken and faulty systems.
Sometimes people mistake being thrifty or frugal, when instead they are stuck trying to provide for themselves, or get some merit or recognition for their own frugality. When in fact, God himself wants to hold the position of provider, Jehovah Jirah, and He wants all the credit.
If we are too busy praising our own efforts, instead of God’s grace, we get it confused. Plus we can only go so far with our own abilities, but the Lord God can go far beyond what we can ever ask or imagine. His Word says so!
Malachi states that when we rob God of our tithes and offerings, we can not expect to receive His blessings, but instead expect our money bags to have holes and our barns to be empty.
It is the best principle to give ten percent of your earnings on the first day of each week to the place where you gather to worship and receive your spiritual nourishment.
Offerings can be given above and beyond that amount to other causes and efforts, as you feel prompted by the presence of God.
There is a way to prosper and to succeed. “Study this Book of Instruction, Meditate on it day and night, so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do,” Joshua 1:8.
May the Lord free you from the patterns that you have established that are keeping you from thriving!
Every good and perfect gift comes from the Lord!
