When You Feel Desperate & Discouraged - Encouragement for Today - November 3, 2015

NOVEMEBR 03, 2015 When You Feel Desperate & Discouraged CRYSTAL PAINE

"And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19 (ESV)

I sunk into a heap on the floor in our little basement apartment.

"What am I supposed to do, God?" I cried aloud. "I’m so thankful for this baby, but I’m so sick with this pregnancy. And being so sick means I can’t work. How are we going to survive?"

I felt helpless and at the end of my rope. My morning-noon-and-night sickness had hung on for weeks, keeping me from working at the part-time jobs I had before I got pregnant.

While my husband was in school, our combined part-time jobs were keeping us afloat. Combining his part-time income and my part-time jobs, we were already barely making it. With the absence of my income, our finances suffered a huge blow — and so did my faith.

I’d always believed that God would provide, but it’s easy to believe that when things are going well and your income is steady. It’s a whole lot harder to believe that when you have bills piling up, and your income is dwindling.

Many days I felt desperate and in those moments, I began claiming the promises of God and praying them back to Him.

One particular promise I clung to was today’s key verse, Philippians 4:19: "And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus."

As I cried out to God for help, the wheels began turning in my head and an idea was birthed in my heart. I realized maybe God’s supply was not coming in the way I thought it would. Instead, His supply arrived by giving me creative ideas He wanted me to be brave enough to step out and try.

While lying in bed feeling sick from my pregnancy, I began taking little steps to act on the ideas I couldn’t get out of my brain. I researched ways to make money online, I emailed other entrepreneurs, and my ideas started to become more concrete, even viable business plans.

It was really slow going at first, and there were days when I felt like I’d never be able to figure out how to successfully earn money from home. But I didn’t give up!

I clung to the Scripture’s promise that God would provide for us and supply our every need — even when I wasn’t sure how we were going to pay the rent or stretch our grocery budget far enough. And He was always faithful!

During those first few months of my pregnancy, I couldn’t have envisioned where those initial baby steps of faith and trusting God to supply creativity and wisdom would lead. Those first feeble attempts at making money from home have, with much time, effort and prayer, turned into a flourishing business that not only supports our family and multiple other families, but has also given us the opportunity to give generously to causes we believe in both locally and around the world.

I’m so thankful for that hard season of life. I learned so much about God’s faithfulness and provision. I saw God show up in very tangible, practical ways, and I was motivated to stretch the little we had futher than I thought possible.

Things don’t often end up like you imagine, but we can trust there will be rewards when we keep putting one foot in front of the other, cling to God’s promises and believe He will faithfully supply our every need.

Heavenly Father, thank You that You never leave me or forsake me. Thank You that I can trust You to be faithful to supply my every need, even on those hard days. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

TRUTH FOR TODAY:
Hebrews 13:5, "Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’" (ESV)

RELATED RESOURCES:
Need some practical ideas and inspiration to increase your income? Check out Crystal Paine’s new book: Money-Making Mom: How Every Woman Can Earn More and Make a Difference.

Sign up for Crystal’s free 5-day video series on how she makes a full-time income from home. For more money-saving advice, visit her blog, MoneySavingMom.com.

Enter to WIN a copy of Money-Making Mom by Crystal Paine. In celebration of this book, Crystal’s publisher is giving away 5 copies! Enter to win by leaving a comment here, letting us know why you’d like a copy for yourself OR whom you would give the book to, if you won. (We’ll randomly select 5 winners and email notifications to each one, by Monday, November 9.)

REFLECT AND RESPOND:
What are you struggling to trust God with right now? Take a few minutes today to remind yourself of a few of the promises in God’s Word that apply to this situation.

Write these promises on an index card and hang them above your kitchen sink, near your desk, or on your bathroom mirror.

© 2015 by Crystal Paine. All rights reserved.

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