The end of financial struggle doesn't come from more money — it comes from seeing money the way God does.
I sense the Lord calling an end to financial struggle. And I want you to understand what that means because it doesn't mean a bigger check is coming. It means he wants to renew your mind in the area of money.
Because if you truly saw money the way God does, there would never be a financial struggle. Does God have financial struggle? No. So the issue isn't your income. It's your mind.
Here's something worth sitting with. Judas Iscariot was the one managing the finances for Jesus's entire ministry — and he was stealing the whole time. Jesus knew. And he didn't do anything about it. When Peter came to him worried about the temple tax, Jesus didn't say, "Well, if Judas hadn't been stealing, we'd have it." He just solved the problem.
So why do I bring that up? Because some of you are living in financial struggle because of the voice you're listening to. The one that says, "If you hadn't made that mistake, you would have it. If you hadn't bought that car, you hadn't moved into that house, you would have it."
And that voice sounds responsible. It sounds like you're owning it. But if you choose to live under the weight of your consequences, you will have financial struggle all the days of your life — even though the provision is already there in Christ.
As long as you blame someone else for your financial situation, you are creating your own financial struggle.
Maybe it wasn't your mistake. Maybe somebody stole from you. And so the story you're telling yourself is, "I wouldn't be struggling if they hadn't taken that from me." I hear you. But here's the truth: as a man thinks in his heart, so is he. When you keep telling yourself that story, you are literally declaring your own financial struggle.
You are determining it. But if you renew your mind and stop inviting financial struggle and instead invite God's mercy and provision into your life, things will turn around.
The answer is not more money. The answer is to get your mind in line with God's. Because money is a little thing to God — which means money should be a little thing to us. The real question is this: when God tells you to do something, do you go consult money first?
Does money get a seat at the board meeting of your life? That's where the problem lives.
There is a difference between being careless and being carefree — carelessness ignores the problem, but carefreeness casts it to the one who can actually handle it.
I'm not asking you to be careless with money. I'm inviting you to be carefree. Carelessness is when you just ignore the care. Carefreeness is when you cast your care to the one who can take care of the care. There's a difference. You hand it over to him and let him deal with it. And my prayer is always, "God, if there's something you need me to do in this, I'm willing. But I'm not going to try to do your job. I'm going to give it to you and listen for my instruction." Walking with the Lord is that simple.
Being a good steward is not about how well you save money — it's about multiplication.
There is nothing in the Word that rewards frugality. When God gives us the parable of the talents, who gets rewarded? Not the one who saved. Not the one who was careful. The ones who multiplied. And they multiplied by actually doing something risky — they went and did business. To invest your money and multiply it requires risk. Maybe we should call it faith. Because sowing seed is faith. You put something in the ground, it disappears for a while, and you're believing that when you see it again it's going to come back multiplied.
That's true in business. And it's true when you give into the work of God. When you tithe, when you give offering, you are sowing a seed. And you should expect it to come back. Jesus said that whatever you give up for him in this life will come back to you a hundredfold. If you don't have an expectation for that, you're saying you don't believe what Jesus said.
Giving without expecting a return is not holy — it's self-righteous.
Some people say, "I give just because I want to. I don't need anything in return." And they say it like that's the higher road. But that is a self-righteous attitude. God doesn't need your righteousness. He gave you righteousness because yours didn't cut it. Your righteousness — filthy rags, is how the Bible puts it. God needs you to receive his righteousness, which he gave you as a gift. And when you receive that gift, you become his righteousness. And his righteousness causes you to believe the Word.
It causes you to read the scripture where Jesus says whatever you give up in his name will come back to you a hundredfold in this life. In this life. Some of you are thinking you'll get the reward in heaven. Read the scripture. He gave you a timeline. You're getting it back here. He didn't say you'd get it back tomorrow, though. So be patient. It's multiplying.
Jesus wasn't warning rich people away — he was making them the best offer they'd ever heard.
Let me walk you through this. A man came running to Jesus and asked what he had to do to inherit eternal life. Here's what happened:
As Jesus was starting out on his way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to him, knelt down, and asked, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" "Why do you call me good?" Jesus asked. "Only God is truly good. But to answer your question, you know the commandments: You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. You must not cheat anyone. Honor your father and mother." "Teacher," the man replied, "I've obeyed all these commandments since I was young." Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. "There is still one thing you haven't done," he told him. "Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." At this the man's face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.
— Mark 10:17-22 (NLT)
He'd kept all the commandments since he was young. Jesus felt genuine love for him. And still, the man walked away sad because he had many possessions.
People look at that and say, "See, God doesn't want us wealthy." But let's be clear. There's a difference between having a lot of money and being owned by a lot of possessions. Then Jesus turned to his disciples:
Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!" This amazed them. But Jesus said again, "Dear children, it is very hard to enter the Kingdom of God. In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!"
— Mark 10:23-25 (NLT)
Back then they traveled by camel. They loaded all their stuff onto the camel — the camel was like the U-Haul. And when they got to the gate of the new city, the camel could go through but not all the stuff piled on top of it. They had to unload everything for the camel to get through.
That's Jesus's imagery. You have to unload all your stuff to enter the kingdom. Not because he wants you poor. Because your stuff has power over you, and he wants to break that power.
The disciples were stunned. But here's what Jesus said next — and this is the part people always leave out:
Jesus looked at them intently and said, "Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God." Then Peter began to speak up. "We've given up everything to follow you," he said. "Yes," Jesus replied, "and I assure you that everyone who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property, for my sake and for the Good News, will receive now in return a hundred times as many houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and property — along with persecution. And in the world to come that person will have eternal life."
— Mark 10:27-30 (NLT)
What Jesus was actually saying to that rich man was: give me all you have and I'll return it to you a hundred times over. Charles Schwab isn't giving you a hundred times. Real estate investing isn't giving you a hundred times. A 2x return on a house flip would be incredible. Jesus is offering a hundredfold. But you have to give it up first. You have to give him something to multiply. That man walked away from the best investment opportunity of his entire life.
The Lord doesn't always give you the outcome to motivate you to obey him — he expects obedience simply from the command.
Notice that Jesus gave the rich man the instruction without giving him the outcome. The rich man walked away before Jesus taught the disciples what the return would be. He only told those who had already given up everything. The disciples said, "We've already left everything behind." And Jesus said, "Yes. And here's what's coming."
That's the highest life with the Lord. Where you trust him so much that you don't even need to know what it's going to turn into. You read the scripture, you obey what it says, and you don't consult your reasoning on whether you should. How is that kind of life? It's an adventure. It's a weight off. Yeah.
All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ — which means if you are in Christ, the wisdom is already in you.
Paul wrote to the church at Colossae that he was agonizing over believers he had never even met personally. Why? Because he wanted them to be encouraged. He wanted them to have something specific:
I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God's mysterious plan, which is Christ himself. In him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
— Colossians 2:2-3 (NLT)
You spreadsheet people, you are not going to figure this out on a spreadsheet. The wisdom is going to bubble up out of your spirit as you're listening to God. It doesn't come from your head. It comes from your spirit — it rises up, hits your mind, and your mind is like, "Wow, I couldn't have come up with that."
And here's how this ties directly into what we talked about with money. To end financial struggle, you have to think like God thinks about money. You have to get his wisdom on money. And that wisdom is not going to come from your own reasoning. Don't look for God to come into agreement with the plan you've already made. Lay your plan down and pick up his.
You don't become complete in Christ — you simply are complete, the moment you are in him.
Paul continues with the instruction every believer needs to hear:
And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. Don't let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ. For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.
— Colossians 2:6-10 (NLT)
Colossians 2:10 says you are complete through your union with Christ. It doesn't say you're working toward it. It doesn't say you'll be complete once you've fixed all your issues. It says you are complete. In him. Right now. Our job is not to try to become complete in our own strength. Our job is to remain in union with Christ.
How do you remain in Christ? You continue to follow him. Somebody say continue. Is there a destination? No. You continue. You keep sticking with Jesus. And when you're sticking with Jesus, you're in him — you have access to all his wisdom, all his provision, all his completeness. But if you're off doing something outside of him, you're on your own. You don't have access to the wisdom. And then you're saying, "I don't know what to do." Well — yeah. That's what happens when you step outside.
Your sinful nature has already been cut off in Christ — you are not conquering sin by trying harder, you are conquering it by believing it's already been conquered.
When you came to Christ, you were "circumcised," but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision — the cutting away of your sinful nature. For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead. You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.
— Colossians 2:11-15 (NLT)
That means it's gone. So when someone is caught in sin and keeps going back to the same thing over and over, don't tell them to try harder and deny themselves. Paul addresses that directly:
Don't let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality... Such rules are mere human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use them. These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person's evil desires.
— Colossians 2:16-17, 22-23 (NLT)
The scripture is clear that pious self-denial provides no help in conquering evil desires. What you tell someone stuck in sin is this: your sinful nature has been cut off. Why are you yielding to something you've been freed from? He broke the power of sin over your life. Why are you acting like it still has power over you? You conquer evil desires by realizing that they've already been conquered in Christ. You say, "I'm walking in victory because Christ already gave it to me." Your mind might still be caught in the old thing even though the sinful nature is gone. That's what the renewing of your mind is for. The Word washes your mind and says, that's not who we are anymore.
The mature Christian life is simpler than we make it — it looks like mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, love, and a quiet mind that can hear God.
Paul paints the full picture across Colossians 3. It starts with where your mind is pointed:
Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God's right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.
— Colossians 3:1-4 (NLT)
Then he gets specific about what needs to come off first:
So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don't be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world... So get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. Don't lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. In this new life, it doesn't matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.
— Colossians 3:5, 8-11 (NLT)
This is the renovation project. You clear out before you redecorate. God gets in there and starts tearing things up — like a demo crew going through a house. And some of you are in that phase right now. Just know it doesn't last forever. At some point you come out the other side, and then this is what you put on:
Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other's faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.
— Colossians 3:12-15 (NLT)
Then the life of a mature believer summed up in two more verses:
Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.
— Colossians 3:16-17 (NLT)
God's idea of what mature faith looks like is pretty chill. It's people full of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. And some of us look at that and think, "That doesn't look very spiritual." But that's where the power resides. That's where the greater works happen. When we'll settle into the simplicity of it. He's not looking for us to impress him. He's just asking us to put him on.
And part of that simplicity is a quiet mind. The Holy Spirit is trying to get through to some of you right now, and your mind is too busy to receive it. It's like calling someone who's already on the phone. Beep beep beep. He's getting a busy signal. Hang up the phone. Quiet your mind so you can hear what he's already saying.
Why do I keep struggling financially even when I'm trying to do the right things? Financial struggle is rooted in how you see money, not in how much you have. If you're still carrying the weight of past mistakes or blaming circumstances for your situation, that mindset is what's keeping you in struggle. The answer is to renew your mind and begin seeing money the way God does — as a small thing.
What is the difference between being careless and being carefree with money? Carelessness is ignoring your financial responsibilities. Carefreeness is handing them over to God and trusting him to handle what you can't. You still do what he asks you to do, but you stop trying to do his job for him. The anxiety lifts because the weight transfers.
What does the Bible actually say about giving money away — will I really get it back? Jesus was explicit: everyone who gives up houses, land, or anything else for his sake will receive a hundred times as much in this present life, along with eternal life to come (Mark 10:29-30). That is a promise with a timeline attached to it. Expecting that return is not greed — failing to expect it is saying you don't believe what Jesus said.
What did Jesus mean by saying it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven? The imagery refers to the gates of ancient cities. A camel loaded with possessions couldn't fit through the gate — everything had to be unloaded first. Jesus was saying that to enter the kingdom of God, you have to let go of what you're carrying. Not because God wants you poor, but because the grip those possessions have on you will keep you out of his blessing. Once you lay it down, he gives it back multiplied.
What does "complete in Christ" mean in Colossians 2? It means that the moment you are in Christ, you are not working toward completeness — you already have it. It is not something you earn or grow into on your own. Your completeness is a function of your union with him. Stay in him, and you have everything. Step outside of him, and you're on your own.
How do I stop going back to the same sin over and over? Not by trying harder — the Bible says severe self-denial provides no help in conquering evil desires (Colossians 2:23). The answer is recognizing that Christ performed a spiritual circumcision and cut off your sinful nature the moment you came to him (Colossians 2:11). You are not someone who has a sinful nature anymore. You conquer evil desires by believing they've already been conquered.
What does it mean to be a bondservant of Christ? A bondservant was originally someone who worked as a servant to pay off a debt. When the debt was paid, they were free to leave. A bondservant was someone who, once their debt was cleared, chose to stay with the master and become part of the family voluntarily. Paul, Peter, and others called themselves bondservants of Christ because they had freely chosen to place themselves under his authority — not out of obligation, but out of love.
How do I quiet my mind to hear from God? It starts with choosing to stop feeding the cycle of anxious thinking. The Holy Spirit may already be speaking to you, but a busy mind can't receive it. Quieting your mind is not a skill you lack — it's a decision you make. Don't accept the cultural narrative that you're incapable of stillness. God didn't make you that way. Hang up the phone and give him space to get through.
