A friend reached out with his concerns – maybe you find yourself thinking this too:
“The Bible says don’t worry about your needs as in Philippians, but in other passages that you often quote, particularly in Proverbs, the Bible talks about planning ahead and anticipating the future. There is a really fine line to me between “worry” and prudent planning since worry is anticipating possible negative consequences in the future. Maybe lack of worry (which is the goal) in this reference is that you have done everything you humanly can to plan properly and then your mind is at peace with whatever happens since ultimately it is in God’s hands? Of course, then there is self-doubt as in did I do what I could to anticipate and plan properly, which I guess is another type of worry…..”
Here were my thoughts:
7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. - Philippians 4:7
I think that we all relate to your thoughts. You feel that you have done everything humanly possible to make the right decisions and take the right actions for your family's financial future. Yet, those nagging "what ifs?" hang around. There is always an element of risk to every financial plan that you have to accept. The reality is that you cannot "plan out" every possible risk. If there were a possibility to "plan out" every risk, I would have mastered it by now!
The goal is to have God’s peace when it comes to your finances.
God's sense of peace is way more secure than any level of peace that we strive for. It goes above our own level of understanding. God's level of peace, which goes beyond our understanding, requires Faith. Faith pushes you above that level of self-doubt. If there were no risk, you wouldn't need Faith.
I believe that if we do our part and listen to God, we all have the ability to get to that level of peace. The question is can you stay at that level of peace? Worrying has an odd way of keeping us in our comfort zone. Fear binds our past to our present. Trusting our "present" to God allows us to let go of the past by learning from it and allow God to be the God of our future.
Self-Doubt is an exercise of fear and nothing more than a habit that we have become good at over time. It is like any good or bad habit. The more you practice it and repeat it, the stronger it gets. It is at that human-made level of peace that keeps self-doubt hanging around.
When you have done everything humanly possible to create the best financial plan for your family and feel God's sense of peace is present, create a new habit. When self-doubt starts to appear, calmly appreciate it for what it is and then ask God to remove it and thank God for His peace. Then create a list of your favorite verses that remind you of God's promises, acknowledge that He is in control and not your self-doubt, and strengthen your Faith. Here is a link to my "go-to" verses - https://www.prudentmoney.com/post/eliminating-financial-fear
The goal is God's peace. It is a peace that is beyond our understanding that keeps us focused on Him and His promises.
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