Trouble in the Economy

Proverbs 24:27 says, "Develop your business first before building your house." (NLT)

There are basically two points to this verse:

1. Develop your business first (whether you own the business or you are attending school to get into a particular field)
2. Then build you home

Part of not wasting your life comes from understanding Present versus Future.

The present is today. We are not guaranteed what should happen tomorrow.

And now I have a word for you who brashly announce, "Today—at the latest, tomorrow—we're off to such and such a city for the year. We're going to start a business and make a lot of money." You don't know the first thing about tomorrow. You're nothing but a wisp of fog, catching a brief bit of sun before disappearing. Instead, make it a habit to say, "If the Master wills it and we're still alive, we'll do this or that." James 4:13-15 (MSG)

With all the problems happening today, the last thing we need to do is spend our time worried or expecting more from tomorrow. God has given us today. Look at what it says, "If the Master wills it and we're still alive..."

In the book of Lamentations, we get a picture of how people are feeling today. Literally the title of the book means "How....!" In other words, the author is expressing a a mixture of shock and despair according to the NIV Study Bible. How did we get into this mess? How will we survive? Why is this happening?

In Proverbs we get part of the answer. We put the cart before the horse. Horses are trained to pull not push. We do better when we think about establishing our lives first instead of establishing our reputation. In Lamentations we see what should have been happening with the people:

Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. "The Lord is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I hope in Him!" The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, To the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly For the salvation of the Lord.Lam 3:22-26 (NKJV)

If we are growing our faith relationship, then we should be seeking God and waiting for Him. This doesn't mean we should be sitting on our laurels. We should be providing answers instead just asking them, and the best way to provide answers is to know the Answer.

When times get bad, planning your future can be more worrisome than anything. But looking at what happened to those in Jerusalem who were questioning their problems, we learn that every morning God is faithful and His compassions never fail. We learn that waiting on God opens the door to His blessing. We learn that we, at times, have to swallow our medicine. But above all we should hope and wait quietly.

Waiting quietly means we are God's agents of peace. While everyone else is panicking, God is using us to bring peace. Through peace we find God's salvation. Through hope we remain faithful to God's sovereignty. Through God's sovereignty, our nation finds renewal.

God's mercies are the reason we are not consumed. God's will is why we are still alive. If you have anything to give today, give peace. Remember, soft answers turn away wrath.