Most of us would agree that money is important to us in our daily living. In fact, it can come to mean so much to us that we can assign too much significance to it. It’s okay to have money, but financial wealth can be fickle; we can get ourselves in trouble if we trust in it. Instead, trusting that God wants to bless our finances is much wiser.

God doesn’t want us to struggle financially, but instead to greatly succeed and prosper. We can trust Him on this. We make a mistake if we think we’re fully relying on Him in everything, but fearfully pull back from giving Him access to our financial lives. God’s promise of security, in our finances and everywhere else, is very simple. “The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it” (Proverbs 10:22).

The message gets garbled when the world tries to complicate it and take God out of the equation. During His ministry, Jesus had an encounter with a young man who was very rich by the world’s standards. However, their conversation revealed that the man trusted more in his own wealth than in God. Jesus pointed out to His disciples that anyone who trusts in their own riches puts their eternal future at risk (Matthew 19:16-24).

The world highly values the “self-made man” who has become rich through his own efforts. This is the exact opposite of trusting in God. If we succumb to the mindset that tells us we must pursue money for its own sake, we fall into the trap of never being satisfied. “Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness! The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it. So what good is wealth—except perhaps to watch it slip through your fingers!”(Ecclesiastes 5:10, 11, NLT).

Money can indeed slip through our fingers. There are times when we may not understand why we have financial issues when we seem to have done all the right things the world tells us to do to protect our money. When this happens, we need to ask for God’s wisdom in this area. “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:5, 6). Trusting in what He says allows Him to lead us out of whatever pit we may have fallen into.

The idea that money is the answer to our problems is incorrect. Wealth can disappear as quickly as it appears, and it can let us down at the worst possible time. A mindset that trusts in riches indicates wrong-thinking. “Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy” (1 Timothy 6:17). We can correct ourselves by valuing God more than money.

God can easily do what money can’t. The notion that physical wealth can buy happiness, bring us love, and make us successful is widely accepted, but wrong. God is willing and able to bless us in every area, if we trust Him. “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). We can be absolutely sure of this promise.