Phyllis Beveridge Nissila

Co-Saints,

Yet another “watchman” told me to stock up on gold and silver.

Quick!

“Have you noticed,” he said in stern tones, “what the Stock Market is up to, rather, down to?”

And the numbers are ominous: last week one day the slide was, for real, 6.66%…

However, to ease the pocketbook burden a bit, the W man, one of many who also sell precious metals, as it turns out, might offer free shipping for orders over X amount…

In reality, when news of the fast-crumbling economy surfaces in the rubble called the state of the world today, what I am tempted to do is not to act now before the fatal crash but to grab my Binky and scramble for my blankie (metaphorically).

Aside from limited wherewithal to accumulate coin, I, along with most people, I think, am wondering how one even begins untangling the Gordian Knot of financial information/trends/strategies/numbers/forecasts and all the other stuff we need to know to make intelligent decisions and not get ripped off (literally).

Seriously, of course, there is merit in making what provision one can/may these days when, it seems, even the headlines can’t keep up with the latest financial (not to mention societal and moral) downturns.

But what the Holy Spirit seems to be highlighting in my spirit about the gold and silver we need to accumulate that is of most interest to God, as detailed in His Word, is what follows. Perhaps you, too have been hearing something similar? If not, be encouraged (and it never hurts to stock up on the other stuff, too, to a reasonable extent, along with some grub and other emergency goods. No, I don’t sell anything :)).

Of the over 780 times silver and gold are mentioned in the Testaments, here are just a few that stand out to me these days:

Proverbs 2:3-4
Cry out for insight, and ask for understanding. Search for them as you would for silver; seek them like hidden treasures.

Proverbs 3:13, 14
Joyful is the person who finds wisdom, the one who gains understanding. For wisdom is more profitable than silver, and her wages are better than gold.

Proverbs 8:10, 11
Choose my instruction rather than silver, and knowledge rather than pure gold. For wisdom is far more valuable than rubies. Nothing you desire can compare with it.

Proverbs 16:16
How much better to get wisdom than gold, and good judgment than silver!

And just when even the Binky, the blankie—even the voice of reason–aren’t quite enough, this:

Proverbs 23:4
Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich (or stored up, as it were, because when is enough of anything enough?). Be wise enough to know when to quit.

And once in awhile it helps to remember the story detailed in Matthew chapter 17 about how Jesus gets the money to pay a certain tax when He and the disciples were in need (from the mouth of a fish. Check it out.)

In short, in God’s economy, we are not limited only to what we can scrape together. Although I wouldn’t necessarily run out and buy a new fishing rod…

A PLAN

Just recently, I felt impressed to spend a certain amount the next several paydays for some of this and some of that. Practical. Do-able. I like that about what I believe are the Lord’s promptings. And I have learned to search for His advice because of this: “(The) wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy” (James 3:17, KJV).

I especially like the “peaceable,” “gentle,” and “easy to be intreated (open to reason)” parts because what else I have learned about direction from God is that He doesn’t prod with panic, rather, persuades with peace.

That said, listening “quickly” helps on our side of the “conversation.”

What’s the Lord been telling you about storing up for hard times ahead?

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Gordian Knot image from: www.thestar.com

Scriptures from the New Living Translation of the Bible unless otherwise noted.