When money is tight, it’s human nature to worry.

“What could I have done differently?”

“Why did this happen?”

“Is it going to get worse?”

This is where our human nature takes us. But God’s nature takes us some place completely different. God’s nature takes us to peace and to prosperity.

I know, I know. You’re wondering, “But how? I’m praying my socks off! I even put $5 in the church offering last week. And nothing!”

Our weak, impulsive natures demand that we control God as if we had some sort of supernatural remote control. *click* “Heal my sickness!” *click* “Pay off my debts!” *click* “Make my mean boss go away!” Yikes. Remote-control Christianity is a recipe for frustration. Fortunately, our patient and loving God has laid it all out for us: moving God’s heart to change our circumstances is about faithfulness, prayer and obedience. It’s about endeavoring in a sincere, life-long journey to understand Him and become, to the extent that we can, a little more like Him.

Psalm 1 reads “Blessed is the man… (whose) delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf aslo shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.”

Seek God’s will daily and He will bless what you do.

It’s important to understand that our involvement in this is critical: We have to actively seek His will for our lives (which we can discover through careful study of God’s word, the Bible) and we must do something. You can’t sit in your prayer chair with your Bible on your lap praying that the food will come and the debts will disappear and the phone will ring with someone offering the perfect job. We must get busy and then God will bless our efforts.

There are a few things we can do that won’t produce results. These include:

1. Worry (Matthew 6:25)

2. Seeking advice from people who don’t seek God’s will (Psalm 1:1). This includes seeking out get-rich-quick schemes, and financial “experts” whose advice doesn’t follow biblical principles.

3. Hanging out with people who aren’t doing their best to eliminate sin from their lives (not to be confused with people who act like they’ve already accomplished this! Also Psalm 1:1) Birds of a feather…

4. Becoming one of those negative, mocking people who tend to knock the very godly wisdom that may help someone else out of a bad situation. (Again, Psalm 1:1)

And there are things we can do that will produce results:

1. Tithing. (Malachi 3:10-11, Proverbs 3:9-10)

2. Caring for the poor, widows and orphans. (Deuteronomy 15:7-11 and James 1:27)

3. Obedience (Deuteronomy 28:1-2; Psalm 1)

4. Prayer and steadfast faith (James 1:2-8)

Doing all of these things doesn’t mean we won’t fail or make mistakes, but I’ve seen time and time again, that as long as I’m headed in the right direction and doing my best, God – in His goodness and faithfulness – turns my mistakes into good things that push me along the path He has me on.

God’s blessings are a promise, but that promise is conditional: It is conditional on our faith, on our involvement and on our obedience. But do those things and you can truly cast your worries aside knowing that God’s hand is on everything you do.