January 13, 2017: Day 13 – Psalm 13

I went to a gathering of pastors yesterday and we spent the entire time praying for you.  Seriously, the entire time, except for the meal afterwards that is.  At the end one of the pastors said that he wanted to pray that this would be the year of the Lord’s favor and he explained what he meant by that.  He wanted to pray that this year would be the year that God would bless the churches financially.  I squirmed.  Even if at the end of this psalm we read: “I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me.”, we need to fully recognize that the psalmist also says: “How can we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?”  

My strategy for church finances is if you love the people, if you are excited and passionate about what you are doing and invested and connected with the projects and the programs, people are just going to naturally respond.  I have prayed in the past with business people that God would help the business grow and be financially viable, but for some reason don’t feel comfortable asking for the favor of the Lord for the church in that respect.  I’m thinking that is my problem.  Why wouldn’t we ask God to bless the church financially.  Probably because part of me thinks that we should be able to do that ourselves.  I know, that isn’t what I preach and it really shouldn’t be what I believe.  I think I just found one more area where I need to grow as a pastor and as a person, thanks Psalm 13!