With the approach of summer, Americans have been greeted with an economic shiver as we are reminded once again that we are in a global economy. With the coronavirus we have seen that a virus beginning on the other side of the world can affect every person on every continent in the world! The Dow Jones Industrial Average has seen several 1000 points drops this first week of May 2022. The upshot is despair, and even panic, among millions of Americans whose savings, retirement funds, and pensions are invested in the stock market.
In light of this, how should we respond when the DJIA drops 1,000 points in a single day? Should we panic or look for a ledge to jump off (as many did after the stock market crashed in 1929). Here are four biblical principles which can stabilize your ship as you navigate rough economic waters:
1. God’s Provision
God will provide for you no matter what the stock market does. He tells us not to worry about the basic necessities of life as unbelievers do. He knows our needs and He will provide for them because He says we are more precious to Him than sparrows or the lilies of the field (Matthew 6:25-34). After all, what do we really need to live? If we have food and covering with these we should be content (1 Timothy 6:8). God never promised us riches on earth, in heaven, yes, but not on earth. So biblical principle #1 is to trust God that He knows your needs and will provide for you.
2. God’s Peace
The second principle is the peace of God which can sustain you when the DJIA drops precipitously. Consider Philippians 4:6, 7, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made know to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Did you catch those two fantastic promises? If we pray and let God know our concerns He will answer by flooding our hearts and minds with His peace, the peace of God. That’s remarkable! That’s a fantastic promise! God will answer my cries for help by guarding my heart from anxiety and my mind from churning endlessly with worry. The word for “guard” is a military term and describes the sentinel who watches for the enemy and, in the event of attack, sounds the alarm. God’s peace is put on sentry duty but it’s only available to believers. It is a fruit of the Holy Spirit who indwells them (Galatians 5:22). Principle #2 is that prayer unlocks the peace of God to calm our anxious hearts and minds.
3. God's Pleasure
All business, including investing, is subject to the will of God. That lesson was missed by a businessman described in the book of James in James 4:13-17. This businessman was an aggressive entrepreneur. He intended to go to a city, make sales for a year, and then gather his profits and head home. The Bible declares such self-willed intentions do not take into account God’s pleasure. What does He want? God’s pleasure is always to be the paramount concern of His people. The aggressive businessman should have said, “IF the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that” (James 4:15). It is arrogance of the first order to plan without considering God and His will in your planning. The Bible calls such boastful planning evil. Suppose God wanted you to find your security in Him instead of in the stock exchange or the wealth of the world. To lose significantly through a decline on Wall Street should drive us to look to God for our security not the world. To give Him pleasure is our greatest delight. That’s principle #3.
4. God’s Promise
As I’ve said, God never promises you or me worldly wealth or riches. In fact He warns us repeatedly about the dangers of riches. They can be corrupting and can steal our hearts away from God. In the parable of the four soils, Jesus describes the seed of the word sown in the third soil, the thorny soil, as fruitless because “. . . the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful” (Matthew 13:22). The Apostle Paul says the rich set their hopes on their wealth; it is their security blanket. Rather they are to put their hope in God and practice generosity to others (1 Timothy 6:17-19). God tells us that contentment with what we have is true riches for believers and that loving money leads to all kinds of evil (1 Timothy 6:6-10). Notice that it is not money that is the root of all evil but the love of money. God promises inner peace to those who live in contentment and that’s principle #4.
The Anti-panic Pill
Don’t panic at a fall in the stock market. God is still on the throne. You are still His child. Trust Him. He knows what He's doing. God is our Refuge, a very present help in time of trouble.
God is still on the Throne and He hasn't forgotten you,
Irv