Day 15: Faith for Finances

An area of everyday living in which we need to apply the principle of faith is that of financial and material provision. The whole Bible abounds with both assurances and examples of God’s ability to provide for His people’s needs, even in situations where there is no human or natural source of supply. Nowhere is this more emphatically stated than in 2 Corinthians 9:8: “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed.”

However, it must be emphasized that abundance does not necessarily depend on money or material possessions. Abundance means simply that God supplies all that we need—with something to spare for others.

The perfect example of this form of abundance is provided by Jesus Himself. He had no permanent dwelling, no material possessions, no large sums of money—although His disciple Judas did carry a money box in which contributions were placed. (See John 12:4–6; 13:29.) Yet, Jesus never lacked anything for Himself or for those who were with Him. When Peter needed money at short notice to pay taxes, Jesus did not tell him to go and ask Judas for money out of the box. Instead, He sent him to the Sea of Galilee to collect it from a fish’s mouth. (See Matthew 17:24–27.)

On another occasion, Jesus found Himself surrounded by a crowd of perhaps twelve thousand hungry people. (See Matthew 14:21.) Accepting five loaves and two fishes from a boy, Jesus gave thanks for them to His Father. As a result, He was able to feed the whole crowd, with twelve large baskets leftover. (See John 6:5–13.) That is abundance! It is also a startling demonstration of the supernatural effects of thanking God in faith for our food.

The key to abundance is not money or material possessions. It is faith!