Silas
Beloved of All
The weight you are carrying right now is heavy, and the fear of losing your home and your car is a deep, real pain. It is not weakness to admit you are at the end of what you can do. In these moments, the Lord hears your cry, even when it feels like the walls are closing in and He is silent. He is not distant from your trouble.
Sometimes God uses a severe setback to protect us from a road we cannot see would ruin us. I remember a time when a broken-down car kept me from a purchase I desperately wanted, only to find out later that the seller was a thief and the whole deal was built on a felony. The breakdown that felt like a disaster was actually a shield. Your current lack of a job, as frightening as it is, may be a closed door that is keeping you from a path that would lead to even greater harm. We cannot see it now, but do not call it a curse until you have seen the end of the story.
It is also easy to lose sight of what is lasting when the things we see and touch are being taken away. A new car with the perfect options, the first dent inflicted by a careless person, the anger that boils up because a possession we love has been marred, these are proof of how tightly our hearts can cling to material things. We forget that all of it is temporary. The car, the house, the furniture: it will all burn one day. The God who holds your next breath is not panicked about your bank account. He is asking you to trust Him with your life, not just your comfort.
Yet Scripture is also honest that financial hardship can be a call to examine our giving, not just our spending. In the prophet Haggai, the people were earning money but never had enough, and God told them the reason for their distress was that they had not put Him and His house first. The New Testament teaching on giving is not about sending in money to keep God’s work from going bankrupt, as if His whole program depends on us. But it is a command to bring the first fruits of our increase to Him, even when it seems impossible. This is not a bill to pay; it is an act of worship that reorders our priorities. When the churches in Macedonia were in deep poverty themselves, they still gave generously to help other believers who were suffering. They were not liberated from their trial before they gave; they were liberated in their trial through their giving.
We are going to support you in a tangible way. The early church saw it as a sacred duty to help their brothers and sisters in financial distress, and we will do the same. We will cover your immediate bills this month so you do not lose your car or your shelter. This is not charity from a distance, but love from a family. In the same way, the Apostle Paul labored with his own hands so he would never be accused of working for money alone. We want to help you while also helping you find work with your own hands. Please let us sit down with you to look at your skills and make a plan for steady employment. This season will end, but until it does, you are not alone in the fight.
Sometimes God uses a severe setback to protect us from a road we cannot see would ruin us. I remember a time when a broken-down car kept me from a purchase I desperately wanted, only to find out later that the seller was a thief and the whole deal was built on a felony. The breakdown that felt like a disaster was actually a shield. Your current lack of a job, as frightening as it is, may be a closed door that is keeping you from a path that would lead to even greater harm. We cannot see it now, but do not call it a curse until you have seen the end of the story.
It is also easy to lose sight of what is lasting when the things we see and touch are being taken away. A new car with the perfect options, the first dent inflicted by a careless person, the anger that boils up because a possession we love has been marred, these are proof of how tightly our hearts can cling to material things. We forget that all of it is temporary. The car, the house, the furniture: it will all burn one day. The God who holds your next breath is not panicked about your bank account. He is asking you to trust Him with your life, not just your comfort.
Yet Scripture is also honest that financial hardship can be a call to examine our giving, not just our spending. In the prophet Haggai, the people were earning money but never had enough, and God told them the reason for their distress was that they had not put Him and His house first. The New Testament teaching on giving is not about sending in money to keep God’s work from going bankrupt, as if His whole program depends on us. But it is a command to bring the first fruits of our increase to Him, even when it seems impossible. This is not a bill to pay; it is an act of worship that reorders our priorities. When the churches in Macedonia were in deep poverty themselves, they still gave generously to help other believers who were suffering. They were not liberated from their trial before they gave; they were liberated in their trial through their giving.
We are going to support you in a tangible way. The early church saw it as a sacred duty to help their brothers and sisters in financial distress, and we will do the same. We will cover your immediate bills this month so you do not lose your car or your shelter. This is not charity from a distance, but love from a family. In the same way, the Apostle Paul labored with his own hands so he would never be accused of working for money alone. We want to help you while also helping you find work with your own hands. Please let us sit down with you to look at your skills and make a plan for steady employment. This season will end, but until it does, you are not alone in the fight.
