Financial Blessing Requires Careful Planning

In Proverbs 21:5 It says, “Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty.” (NLT)

To be financially strong, we need to start writing down what we spend until we know where all our money is going. This is the principle of accounting. You’ve got to keep track of your finances!

How many times have we gotten to the end of the month and wondered, “Where did all my money go?” Ignorance of our financial condition plus easy credit equals disaster.

Money doesn’t talk, It just walks away quietly, and it doesn’t tell you where it’s going. To know what we're spending our money on, we have to keep good records.

Proverbs 21:5 says, “Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity” (NLT).

When it comes to finances, we need to keep good records of four things: what we own, what we owe, what we earn, and where it’s going. This kind of record-keeping is the framework for budgeting.

There are several ways to budget, and you’ll need to figure out which one is best for you. You need to get online, get to your bank, get to your accountant’s office, get into your books—whatever it takes for you to get on track and understand your money so that it works for you and not against you.

Proverbs 23:5 says, “Your money can be gone in a flash, as if it had grown wings and flown away like an eagle” (GNT). That’s a pretty descriptive picture. If we don’t know where our money is going, it’s just going to fly away like an eagle. Fortunately, for those of us in the US, our government is kind enough to remind us of this by putting an eagle on every dollar bill!

The financial plan that God blesses starts with recognizing that he is your source of income and your security. Then, by keeping good records, you can quickly see how God is blessing you.

I remember having difficulty in my past with creating a budget (spending plan.) What I have learned is that having an established spending plan gives me freedom from anxiety and stress. It's a great help in keeping me from not having enough at the end of the month and needing to rely on credit lines or other forms of borrowing. Creating a spending plan (budget) is not that difficult. I think the most difficult part for me, before creating a budget, was accessing my total financial picture. It was a scary thing that I didn’t want to face or touch. Deciding to put together what I own, what I owed, what I earned was something I needed to embrace. The second most difficult thing was finding out where it was going. The spending plan at first was tough because it meant that I needed to carefully plan and face up to reality that I may not have enough to live the way I was. I had to make difficult decisions and sacrifice in order to turn my negative situation into a positive one.  

I want God’s blessings on my life and my finances. It starts with knowing it’s all His and I need to be a good steward of it.

Then, steady plodding will bring prosperity; hasty speculation brings poverty. If I plan carefully I will have plenty; if I act too quickly, I'll never have enough. In summary, I need to plan carefully and not  be hasty or be quick acting. Steady plodding brings prosperity.