Money & Finances
I lost my job six weeks ago and the bills have not stopped arriving. I am waking at four in the morning doing sums in my head. What do I actually do?
“Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.”
David wrote this while being betrayed by someone close to him, and the psalm is full of the physical symptoms of dread: trembling, a racing heart, wanting to fly away from it all. The instruction to cast your burden arrives after all of that rather than instead of it. The Hebrew suggests throwing something down heavily. It assumes the burden is real and that you have carried it too long.
“Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.”
The writer to the Hebrews is addressing Christians who had already lost property and livelihood because of their faith. He quotes God's old promise to Joshua and applies it directly to their finances. The reason he gives for contentment is not that provision is guaranteed but that presence is. The Lord is my helper is a line written for someone genuinely exposed, not someone comfortable.
A path forward
Phone every creditor and your landlord or lender this week and explain your situation before you miss a payment. Almost all have hardship arrangements, and they respond very differently to people who call first.
Check what benefits, grants or hardship funds you are entitled to, including through your church or denomination. People routinely leave real money unclaimed out of embarrassment.
Tell two people at church exactly where you are, and ask them to pray with you weekly until this turns. Carrying it alone at four in the morning is the part that will break you.
Closing verse
“The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.”
- Nahum 1:7
Coming Soon
Want to ask your own question?
Revealed is building a feature that lets you ask anything and receive a Bible-rooted response drawn from both Testaments. Join the waitlist to be first to know when it launches.