Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully. Be well balanced (temperate, sober of mind), be vigilant and cautious at all times; for that enemy of yours, the devil, roams around like a lion roaring [in fierce hunger], seeking someone to seize upon and devour. Withstand him; be firm in faith [against his onset—rooted, established, strong, immovable, and determined], knowing that the same (identical) sufferings are appointed to your brotherhood (the whole body of Christians) throughout the world. —1 Peter 5:7-9 (The Amplified Bible)
Last time, I wrote about my amazing, miraculous healing testimony. While I am still healed, I want to let you know that it has been a battle. The devil has tried to convince me that I didn’t receive my healing on Sunday, April 25th, 2010. I am so glad that God told me to write my testimony down, so I have all the details on paper. I can use the details to remind the devil and myself of God’s glorious movement in my life!
Since my healing in April, my husband and I filed bankruptcy in June 2010. My son and I proceeded to move to Mississippi to live with my parents at the end of June, and my husband followed in the middle of July. We looked diligently for jobs and applied for jobs, but nothing was panning out. I let go of God’s word to my heart and began struggling with negative thoughts and depression. I was not spending time in the Word or God’s presence. I was surrounding myself with drama filled television and negative thoughts. Instead of standing strong against the enemy, I simply gave up!
Fast forward to March 2011. God has restored so many things that we lost or thought we had lost in the bankruptcy. My husband received an amazing job offer in August, which meant that we were moving back to Minnesota. Our house was in foreclosure, but we were able to liquidate our IRAs and catch up on the missed payments. We have our house back! My husband has a job that he loves getting up and going to work for every day, even though it involves a one hour commute one way in good traffic and weather. I have my job back that I resigned from in June to move to Mississippi. I also have another job, so I am working with kids of all ages (which I love), and I work 37.5 hours per week! We have money in our savings account for the first time in eight years. We are consistently putting money into our savings account and freedom account,1 and we are paying our bills on time.
I am convinced that these changes have come about for three reasons.
First, we have become faithful tithers again. The tithe is the first ten percent of any increase (paycheck, birthday money, Christmas money). You give your tithe to the Lord through the church body where you attend. God says in Malachi 3:9-11,
“You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the LORD Almighty.
Second, I am spending time in God’s presence through reading the Bible, prayer, and listening to anointed praise and worship music.
Third, I am gathering consistently with fellow believers. I attend church faithfully on Sundays with an open heart, ready to hear what the Spirit of the Lord has to say to me. I also attend my weekly cell group meeting, which is an opportunity for discipleship where I can grow in my walk with the Lord under the wings of a more mature Christian.
In order to do these three things, I have had to adjust my priorities and my thinking when it comes to how I spend my money and my time. The first adjustment that I had to make was to realize that it is not my money or my time. It is the Lord’s, and I am just managing it for Him. Therefore, it behooves me to seek Him and His guidance on how to spend the money and time that He has blessed me with. I was willing to seek Him and search my heart because it shows that I am serious about God and that He is my first love.
What changes do you need to make to align your life with what the Word has to say, to reflect that God is your first love?
1The freedom account is a concept from Mary Hunt’s book Debt Proof Living. It is a separate checking account into which you deposit monthly 1/12 of your known irregular expenses.
Copyright © by Stephanie Gulland
This post was written by...
Stephanie Gulland – who has written 10 posts on Positively Feminine.
Stephanie Gulland is married to her best friend, Ed, and they have one son, David. Stephanie’s column, In His Presence, is posted bimonthly on PositivelyFeminine.org.
