“The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold” (Psalm 18:2, NIV).

It had been a hard week with many extra hours. At dinner last night, my wife inserted into our conversation, “I’m going to need some money to pay…,” meaning we were going to have to withdraw from savings more funds to cover some major expenses. We had agreed on the necessary expenses beforehand, but her pronouncement hit me at the wrong time. I made some whiney comments about having to work so hard to cover our expenditures. I apologized to her this morning.

I can be such a whiner at times, and periodically that whining is about money.

It’s strange that money should affect me this way when I have always had more than I need, unlike millions who have so little. When I think deeply about my personal money anxieties, they’re not really about an inability to pay for my needs. My angst over money is, deep down, much more about security—will I have enough for my future? What if serious illness comes along? What if I ever choose to retire? What about those wonderful vacations I long to take? What if some trouble hits my kids and they need my help?

What if life were not eternal and God did not hold me in His arms?

Sometimes it’s hard to link the real truth of my spiritual life with the real truth of my physical life. I believe them both, but sometimes I just don’t bring them together as a whole truth of life.

In a very enlightening song “What If,” sung by the group Consumed by Fire, the song begins with questions in a world unlinked to the truth of God.

“I wanna run, but what if I fall?

I wanna climb, but what if the wall is just too tall?”

Then, the song turns and links these questions to the whole truth of life:

“What if God’s just waiting for me to start seeing how big He is?”

What if God’s just waiting for me to link my worries about money to the truth of who He is?

What if I ask the same question about concerns that are far more important than money?

Dear Father,

Help me link the truth of my visible world to the truth of who you are.

Amen