10.06.2009

Boyd Bailey: Future Savings…

Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer”. Proverbs 30:25

Future savings are a wise way to express faith in our Heavenly Father. He does His part by giving us the ability to produce resources and He expects us to not spend it all in the present. The temptation is to take the work of our hands and have it all for now. However, it is when we wait on wants and save for needs that positions us to give in our golden years. “Your beginnings will seem humble, so prosperous will your future be” (Job 8:7).

Future savings requires self-denial and self-sacrifice. This is especially hard for those who are spenders. You want to reward yourself for a job well done, so you splurge and enjoy the moment. Perhaps a good process is to save 10% for long-term savings, just like you give 10% to the church and the Lord’s work. Consider an automatic draft from your checking account into safe savings, so that over time you adjust and don’t miss the cash flow.

Future savings gives you options. Would you like to have the opportunity to take your grandchildren on mission trips or give to building orphanages around the world? Maybe. Or, you may have the simple goal of having access to proper healthcare. None of us want to be a burden to our family or friends, even though they are there to bless you. Savings helps them to help you in your time of need. You raised them to raise you one day. “So there is hope for your future," declares the LORD. "Your children will return to their own land” (Jeremiah 31:7).

Use the times when you gather extra income to store up for the lean times just like Joseph saved grain during the prosperous days so he could provide during the days of famine. “This food should be held in reserve for the country, to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt, so that the country may not be ruined by the famine” (Genesis 41:6). How can I save wisely for my family and my future needs?

Related Readings: Proverbs 21:5; 21:20 (LB); 1 Corinthians 16:2; 1 Timothy 5:8

Source: Wisdom Hunters by Boyd Bailey

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