BY JEREMIAH SMITH

Northview Church Lead Pastor Steve Poe’s third message on Peace from the Fruit of the Spirit series, made me reflect upon my own experiences with peace (or the lack of it) in my life.  There was a time when finances were a significant struggle in my life.  I was constantly worrying about the bank accounts, credit cards, retirement account, etc.  In 2012, my wife and I began attending Northview and also began actively seeking God and praying. 

There was soon a turning point for me.  I wanted to have God as the foundation for every aspect of my life.  While I haven’t achieved that in every aspect yet, I have been able to give some things to God that were holding me back.  One of these was the worries I held about finances.  Once I believed in my heart that God would provide for me and my family, and that I only needed to be a good steward of what God provides, I was relieved of most of my stress about finances. 

That doesn’t mean that I can spend my money however I choose and God will provide a safety net for me.  It means that I choose to seek God’s wisdom and plan for how I use the money that he has provided.  It was not an easy decision on paper because it did not make sense mathematically, but my wife and I chose to begin to tithe soon after we started attending Northview.  This was another step in being a good steward of God’s provisions. 

Seeking the peace that God can provide also caused me to turn to God more often in prayer.  Whether it was an important decision, business meeting, or feeling inadequate for a task, I began to pray to God over these items.  He does not always give the answer or result that I had in mind, but knowing that God is involved in my life helps me to keep the upper story in perspective.  As Pastor Steve has told us, we have to remember that the things of the world are temporary and to remember that our ultimate goal is eternity in Heaven.

The Tuesday Spiritual Column is entirely the opinion of this week’s writer and does not necessarily reflect the view of Northview Church as a whole.