Planning and management - 15 November 2023

We have seen in yesterday’s verse that we are called to be good stewards of all that God blesses us with. We are taught in the Bible to walk by faith and to trust the Lord for today’s needs, as Jesus has taught us to pray in Matthew 6:11. We are not to worry about the future, but to trust in the Lord for all we need, according to Matthew 6:33.

The Bible, at the same time, exhorts us to be wise in our spending. We are not to spend all we have as soon as possible. To keep means to save for the future, to put away for coming needs. When we read of Joseph’s role in Egypt’s coming famine (Genesis 41), we learn that it is good to plan for the future. There may be lean years ahead and I think we are in one now. It is good to build up reserves for times like these. We are growing older and it is a good habit to save for your retirement years. Unwise people do not save. Proverbs 20:4 says this: “Sluggards do not plow in season; so at harvest time they look but find nothing.” We need to plan for our future, we need to work and believe that God will provide for us. We also need wisdom on how to save. There are so many scams and schemes wishing to part us from our money. Ecclesiastes 11:2 teaches us to diversify in our investment strategy, to not keep all our eggs in one basket. “Invest in seven ventures, yes, in eight; you do not know what disaster may come upon the land.”

During the course of our lifetime, we gather things to sustain us, to work with and to play with. But there is also a time to let go. There are few things so sad as to see the life of a hoarder. Whole television series have been made about people who do not have the ability to throw anything away. They are literally drowning in clutter and in some cases, filth. It is healthy to declutter, to throw away the things that you don’t need, which have served its purpose. Get rid of the old objects in your life that do not work anymore. Get rid of old ways of thinking that hinder your growth. Get rid of the old way of speaking about yourself and other people. Throw away the temptations that want to inhabit your mind. Get rid of the mistakes and blame of your past; Jesus has paid for it all on the cross. It is time to let it go!

Prayer: Lord, thank you for being my Provider in life. Thank you for all I receive, that I may live an abundant life to your glory. Please give me the wisdom to know which things I need to keep and how to save for the future. But also show me what to throw away in my life, so that I will not be entangled by it. Free me from everything that keeps me from a life of freedom in Christ. Amen