Money
A reflection on Work, Trust, and Surrender
July 21, 2025
Refined August 4, 2025
I have always been very financially driven. I love a good side gig. I spent a lot of college with at least 3 different jobs, plus volleyball, plus school. And I loved it. I have had the desire for saving, for doing more than I necessarily need to. But, I have also had to struggle with trusting God with my finances. And, I know I am not alone! So, here I am writing about it, in a hope to encourage and speak life and peace over even just one more person’s financial life and security.
We will never be secure in our finances if our hope is in our finances. We must find security in something that is not so fleeting. God is a good go-to, I would say.
Let’s talk about tithing. Scripture calls us to tithe the first 10% of what we earn. (see Leviticus 27:30, Proverbs 3:9-10)
Not the leftovers. Not the amount we feel like we can spare. It’s a faith move. A declaration that says, “Lord, I trust You as my provider.”
It’s less about the number and more about the heart posture. It’s saying everything I have is Yours anyway. Let me start there.
A tidbit: any time over the past few years that I think about my heart posture with my money, the Lord reminds me of this:
What you do with little, my daughter, you do with a lot.
If you are faithful with a little, you will be faithful with a lot
If you are stingy with a little, you will be stingy with a lot
If you are ____ with a little, you will be ____ with a lot.
And this has proven to be true in my life, in my walk.
Spending and saving | Balance and Surrender
It’s wise to save. It’s okay to enjoy what God has given. But when we’re faced with “extra”, what do we do? Save? Splurge? Give? Help a friend? Invest in ministry? Do nothing?
Each time, the best answer is pray about it. Ask God, what do You want me to do with what You’ve given me? Because, again, it’s not ours in the first place. We are stewards, not owners, of His provision.
God gives opportunities. He gives jobs, promotions, clients, side gigs, scholarships. And he gives not to build our pride, but to build our platform for kingdom generosity. It’s not about glorifying ourselves, whether we are rich or poor. It’s about glorifying Him. (see 1 Timothy 6:10)
So yes - go make money! Work hard! Be creative!
And do it all for Jesus.
“Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21)
So, may your treasure be surrendered with an eternal intentionality.
Happiness in the house, praise in the prison - I heard this in a message at church, and I love this idea. Looking into Acts 16.
Lydia was a successful businesswoman in Phillipi, a seller of purple cloth. When she came to faith, she immediately opened her home in hospitality and generosity to Paul and Silas. They enjoyed the comfort and provision of her hospitality while continuing the work of the Gospel.
Not long after, Paul and Silas were thrown into prison, beaten chained and surrounded by darkness, for the ministry work they were doing (they cast out a demon out of a slave girl who had been making a lot of money for her owners by fortune-telling… imagine).
And yet, in both settings, Lydia’s beautiful, lavishly comfortable home and the cold prison cell, they did the same thing: praised God and served Him wholeheartedly.
I think we can take a page out of their book. In the end, the glory isn’t for us, It’s all for Him. So, what does that look like when we are comfortable? When we are uncomfortable? When we are working? Resting? Making a surplus? Barely scraping by? What is our why? Who is it for?
