Hope for Those Paralyzed by the Recession

Wed, Jul 29, 2009

I received a letter from Dudley Hall today who is with an organization called Successful Christian Living Ministries (SCLM). I’m on the mailing list and often get their letters and CD’s. To be honest, I’m not quite sure how I got on the mailing list, but I’ve been on it for over a year. I used to visit breakfast meetings for a Dallas Real Estate Ministries (DREM) and I think there is an association between the two organizations. Long story short (probably not now) I really haven’t paid attention to the content until today.

I felt I needed to share an excerpt from Dudley’s letter because it provides such an awesome perspective on the current economic climate I hadn’t really thought about. Enjoy and please let me know what you think.

Recently I talked with a man who seemed absolutely paralyzed by the effects of the economic recession. He has lost his six-figure salary and much of his retirement fund. He seems suspended in mid-air as he waits for things to return to normal.

Things are not going to return to “normal.” Things can get better, but they will not go back to the same old way they were. There are some things God wants us to see that have been hidden in and complexity of prosperous times. He is insistent that we not settle for minor comfort when he has so much more he wants us to experience.

I think everyone has been asking the question “when do you think the recession will end and all be normal again?” But many Christians, myself included, haven’t taken as much time as we should to stop and listen to what God is saying to us. And I think so many are for the first time learning what it really means to manage money wisely. The mission of financial counselors and personal finance bloggers has never been more important.

What are your thoughts on Dudley’s comment, “things are not going to return to normal?”