Life’s trials
Few worries press as hard as money. A bill that cannot be paid, work that has gone, a debt that grows: these keep people awake, and they can make us feel ashamed. What does God say to someone who does not have enough?
“One’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” (Luke 12:15)
Why is there poverty in the world?
God made a world with plenty for all. Poverty belongs to a world that has turned from Him. Sometimes it comes through other people’s greed or injustice, sometimes through illness, war or disaster, sometimes through our own mistakes, and often through no fault of the person who suffers it. The Bible never treats the poor as a nuisance. Again and again God commands His people to be open-handed, and He calls Himself the defender of those in need.
Is my poverty a sign of God’s disfavour?
No. The clearest proof is Jesus Himself. “Though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor” (2 Corinthians 8:9). He was born in a borrowed stable and buried in a borrowed tomb, and God the Father was well pleased with Him. Many of God’s most faithful servants have had very little.
Nor is wealth a sign of God’s favour. It can be a danger: “He who trusts in his riches will fall” (Proverbs 11:28). To trust in money is to lean on a stick that snaps. The person who has plenty can come to feel no need of God at all, and that is a far worse position than having an empty purse.
What comfort does the gospel offer the poor?
First, that the greatest riches cannot be bought and cannot be lost. Read the rest of that verse: Christ became poor “so that you through His poverty might become rich”. He means forgiveness, peace with God, and a home with Him for ever. Jesus told of a poor man named Lazarus who died and was carried to comfort, and of a rich man who died and was not (Luke 16:19–31). Our years here are short. What matters most is where we stand with God.
Secondly, that your Father knows. Jesus said, “your heavenly Father knows that you need them”, speaking of food and clothing, and then: “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you” (Matthew 6:32–33). This is not a promise of wealth. It is a promise that those who put God first will not be forgotten by Him.
So come to Christ as you are. He does not ask what you can pay.
If you belong to Christ
Being a Christian does not keep the bills away. Paul knew hunger and need, and wrote, “I have learned to be content regardless of my circumstances” (Philippians 4:11). Notice the word learned. Contentment did not come to him naturally. God taught it to him, in hard places.
Some things to hold on to:
- Pray about it plainly. Tell your Father what you need.
- Do what you can. Trusting God does not mean doing nothing: seek advice about debt, and take what honest work you can find.
- Do not carry it alone. Tell a mature Christian or an elder of your church. God often supplies His people’s needs through His people.
- Remember His promise: “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).
Scripture quotations are from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), which is in the public domain. They keep its American spelling.