It’s been seven weeks since I committed to obeying God in faith by spending money as if more were coming. Practically, that meant that my husband and I declared our values to God, and allocated money accordingly. Instead of spending money according to the due dates on our bills, we spent money on what was most important to us: first, whole, organic foods; then, personal and family fun; then, housing; and so on. It seemed backwards and against everything I had ever been taught about how to manage my finances, but it was God teaching us how to step out in faith, and how to redefine what “rich” meant.
Here’s what has happened so far.
Answered Prayers
In our fourth week of obedience—and almost one full month of a bill cycle—my husband and I started getting breakthroughs in our prayers for guidance in our work. We began getting clarity on what God wanted us to pursue with our business, and many of the dreams we have been dreaming for the last two years began connecting in ways we didn’t expect.
Paid Bills
Although most of our bills were paid later than they were due, and we spent several weeks with our phones ringing to ask about them, they were all paid, both months.
Last month, all of our bills were paid in full by the fourth week of the month. This month, they were all paid in full by the third week of the month.
Extra Money
Not only did God bring paychecks exactly on time so that we could pay our bills relatively on time, but we received extra money that we didn’t expect! In week four, it was $500, and in week seven, it was $1,200. In each case, we used some of that money to have a family date that we wouldn’t have otherwise been able to afford. Since I’m traveling so much lately because of taking battalion command, every memory I get to create with my family is precious to me.
In week six, a friend texted to ask for our Venmo account so that he could thank us for a kindness we had done for him in the month before. We obviously did not do this kindness for payment, but God seemed to use it to invite him to give to us. The money he sent allowed us to pay two unexpected bills fully.
Seeing Hearts
An unexpected side effect in this journey has been seeing the hearts of the companies to which we pay our money. For example, we have two loans with two different banks. When we asked First Commonwealth Bank for an extension on one of our payments (having paid on-time every time before), we were immediately told that if we didn’t pay on time, our payment would be sent to collections. However, when we asked Citizens Bank for an extension, they immediately gave us a one-time, two-month extension on our loan and asked that we only pay the interest rate due on time. Guess whose loan I’m going to pay off first when I have more money so that they lose the interest on my loan? You guessed it, First Commonwealth. Guess who I will recommend to other people? Citizens Bank.
Greater Levels
What has been interesting throughout this journey is that our bills increase every month, but so does our income. In June, we started a new child care that was more than twice as expensive as the previous one. Yet, we were able to pay our bills. In July, we got unexpected one-time payments for things like new contacts or a driver’s license or accessing our storage unit. And in August, we will begin paying household goods storage and medical insurance fees that the Army had been paying up until this point.
We feel like frogs in a pot of water, where God is increasing the heat by one degree at a time, but we are not cooking. In fact, we are feeling more peace and more hope through the process.
May we please the socks off of our God by the growth in our faith. For without faith, it’s impossible to please God, and with faith, it’s impossible not to.
“For without faith, it’s impossible to please God, and with faith, it’s impossible not to.”
TenayBenes.com
Amen.