If you find yourself wondering about the stability of your finances during this Coronavirus season, you are not alone. Many families have felt the blow of salary reduction, decreased hours, or layoffs. Small business owners are scrambling to stay in business. Even large companies are furloughing employees just to stay afloat. The headlines can make the situation appear hopeless, but when earthly things seem hopeless, we have the confidence that they definitely are not.
Our hope is not in our supply, but our Supplier.
Practical Tips
Take practical steps to steward your finances well even when it is difficult and the circumstances seem ever-changing. Check out these valuable resources that are currently offering advice specifically for the Coronavirus impact on the economy and finances.
Dave Ramsey
Dave Ramsey has included a special section on Finding Hope in the Coronavirus Chaos on his homepage.
Some of his tips include:
- Setting up a new budget for this season of crisis.
- Practical Do’s and Dont’s with your money.
- Should you file for unemployment?
- What to do if you run a business or church.
He’s got variety and a little something for everyone, including 4 Ways to Make Temporary Income During the Coronavirus, and for those quarantined chefs, he suggests 9 Pantry Meals You Can Make Without Going to the Store.
Crown Financial Ministries
Crown Financial Ministries has also included Resources for Coronavirus Economic Impact. Here you can access a Crisis Budget Guide which will take you through 5 Steps for Starting a Crisis Budget. You’ll even be able to fill out a form to personalize it for your needs. That’s an immediate action step you can take today to make sure you’re headed in the right direction.
It is never too late to seek tips and solid ideas for sound budgeting.
Spiritual Truth
Practical tips aside, bolster yourself spiritually during this time. We know suffering will come in this present day and should not be surprised when it hits. But 1 Peter tells us we are “born again to a living hope.”
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 1 Peter1:3-9 ESV
In his Bible commentary, Dr. Tony Evans describes Peter as a man who “loved to lead, but he had to go through a lot of brokenness to learn how . . . Peter wanted believers to know that new birth in Christ gives hope that will aid perseverance in spite of what we go through.”
We have a living hope, an inheritance that is imperishable, even in grievous trials.
The hope that Peter describes to suffering Christians is not a wish, but a confident expectation in Jesus Christ for our past, present, and future… INCLUDING our finances.