How Asking For Help Glorifies God

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And it's available in all 50 states and around the world. Learn more at chministries.org faithbuy. Why is it that so many of us are quick to help others, but we never dream of asking for it ourselves?

I'm Rob West. Studies show that Christians are generous people willing to help when we see a need. But do we hide our needs from others when we could use a hand? I'll talk about that today and then it's on to your calls at 800- 525-7000.

That's 800-525-7000. This is faith and finance, biblical wisdom for your financial decisions. Well, many churches have benevolence funds to help primarily members get through a financial rough patch. And no doubt, most church members gladly support those funds and want to see them used wisely as needed. But I'll go out on a limb and say that a lot of folks who readily support their church having a benevolence fund would and have found it difficult to ask for help from it.

Now, why is that? Well, no doubt one reason is that we see asking for help as being a burden on others. We would gladly go without some necessity and maybe even see our families go without rather than burden someone else. And yet Galatians 6 2 says, bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. So you see, God never intended for us to be rugged individualists going our own way.

He meant for us to live in a Christian community centered around the local church and extending outward. God wants us to share each other's burdens, but that's not possible if we don't make ours known. Maybe we don't want to appear vulnerable or weak, so we keep our needs secret, telling no one that we need help. Or we might tell ourselves that others can't help us, or they don't want to. Here we must be careful because some of these reasons could be rooted in sin, the sin of pride. Proverbs 11 2 tells us when pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom. You know, asking for help, especially financial help, can be a humbling experience, one many of us would rather avoid. It's even more difficult when the need arises from a mistake or a poor decision we've made. Yet perhaps the act of seeking help is part of the lesson, a reminder to reflect and learn and avoid repeating the same mistake in the future.

But even if your present difficulty is through no fault of your own, God can still use the experience to shape your character more like Christ, to teach you something you need to learn, and it quite likely has to do with letting go of pride and surrendering yourself in humility to the Lord. Even the apostle Paul received financial support for his ministry from time to time. In Philippians 4 19, he thanks the church of Philippi saying, and this same God who takes care of me will supply all of your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus. So if you need financial help, ask for it. We may believe that God helps those who help themselves, but there is a reason that saying isn't found in the Bible.

It contradicts its message. Jesus himself modeled humility, relying on Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Susanna for support during his earthly ministry in Luke 8 1 through 3. If the Son of God could accept help from others, so can we. Start by sharing your needs with your church community. If no one within the church can assist directly, there's a good chance someone knows someone outside the church who can. The body of Christ is an extensive network of people and resources ready to support and serve in times of need. Okay, we've gone over several reasons why you may not want to ask for help, but here are the main reasons why you should do it. It glorifies God.

How, you might ask? Well, first, asking others for help glorifies God because in our weakness, his strength is revealed. In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul writes, For the sake of Christ, then I am content with weakness, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. When we are weak and admit it, we give others the opportunity to help. Conversely, if you keep quiet about your need, you deny others the chance to help, and they may really want to help. Ultimately, you deny God the opportunity to provide for you through others. When you find yourself in a difficult situation, you're more likely to go to God in prayer, asking him for help.

The Bible encourages this. 1 John 5 14 teaches if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. When you pray for God's help according to his will, he will help. Not with bags of money falling from heaven, but through other people and circumstances. Maybe he provides a new opportunity for you to earn more. The point is to get help, you have to ask for it, and that includes and begins with asking the Lord.

It's good to do because it not only glorifies the Father, it allows others to be generous as they're called to do. All right, your calls are next. The number 800-525-7000.

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Check off the affordable box on your list and get back to what you really love, running your business or caring for your kids, and have peace of mind while doing it. Visit chministries.org slash faithfi to enroll today. Great to have you with us today on Faith and Finance. Well, we'd love to take your calls and questions today on anything financial. As you think about your role as a steward in managing God's money, I know along the way, as I do, there are questions that come up, things you're wrestling with.

You want a sounding board, and you always want to look at each issue through the lens of God's Word, because as we live out a biblical worldview, it includes every domain of our life, and that certainly includes our money management. So what questions do you have today? You can call right now 800-525-7000.

That's 800-525-7000. We've got some lines open today, and we'd love to tackle whatever is on your mind. All right, let's begin in Arkansas today. Jonathan, you'll be first up. Go ahead, sir.

Yeah, I've got a question. I'm trying to figure out, I need to get myself back on track, and it's kind of a, I feel like I've got a grief, and my grief is compounded. I'm a bivocational pastor. I'm trying to lead and to guide through the congregation that God has entrusted me with in the most godly way that I can, and of course, I receive an income from them. I work a full-time job. I'm a government employee, so I've got a pretty substantial income there. My wife also works between the two of us with all three incomes. We're well into the six figure income.

However, we have gotten ourselves into a situation between payments and things of that nature that we just, we can't give the way that we need to be giving, nor the way that I want to be giving. I do see some relief in the near future as a government employee. I'll be getting a raise, you know, a cost of living allowance, and then right around the end of February, first part of March, I will be getting a step increase. So my salary range, I'm looking at close to about a seven to eight thousand dollar salary increase, and also my truck will be paid off in March. That would be the last payment on my truck, so I will have some income that's going to be getting freed up, but like I said, I just, I feel like I've just gotten my, you know, like Motion America, I've just got myself so strapped underneath all these payments and these things, you know, that I feel like I can't give like I want to give. My heart wants to give, and I just feel like I can't because when the paychecks hit, everything is gone to make payments and try to catch up with things. I just, I don't know.

I'm just kind of at a loss. Well, I think that what you're sensing here, Jonathan, is the starting point because unless there's some tension there kind of in your own heart and mind, you're not going to do anything about it, and lifestyle creep is the biggest barrier to accomplishing any of our longer-term goals, whether that's giving more, saving more, reducing debt, whatever it is, and so we've just got to fight against that because there's this, you know, you've got inflation that was, you know, it's been challenging because now everything's more expensive, but on top of that, you know, as you get these increases, you know, your level of spending will always rise to your level of income unless you protest to the contrary, and, you know, that's something you and your wife need to have a united front on. Have you all had these conversations, and is she sensing the same thing? Yes, she is, and like I said, it just seems to, you know, we've got two teenagers in the house, and it's, you know, it's tough because, you know, the teenagers, they want to do things. We've got one that's driving. Luckily, his twin sister has not taken an urge to start driving.

She's okay with just letting him drive her around, which is great because that added that extra burden of, you know, two vehicles, two gas bills, two insurance, you know, all that stuff, it's not there. It's just one, but yes, she does share the same frustration and conviction that I do, but like I said, for me, it's a more compounded because I'm a bi-vocational pastor, and I almost feel like I'm being hypocritical because, you know, I'm standing here as this person over my, you know, with the congregation God's given me, and I feel an extra burden of grief because I'm like, you know, Jonathan, you're fake, and that's what I feel in my spirit. I feel fake, but at the same time, I have the desire. I think this is what I want to do, but I just, you know, I kind of feel like Paul, the very thing that I want to do, I don't do, the very thing that I don't want to do, that's what I do, and you know, I wrestle with that daily, so, you know, and I've got my giving and everything, you know, my saving and everything set through my TSP, and my wife has got her set through her retirement, and that's kind of, you know, my mind, that's my beginning point is to say, okay, you know, match.

What am I putting into my TSP? That's what I need to match what goes into the offering plate, you know, whatever she's matching into her retirement, she needs to get hers to a 10% and then match whatever she's putting in, you know, but it's, and I know it's going to take some sacrifices, but, you know, with inflation and cost of everything, I mean, insurance, my insurance has gone up over the last year and a half, my insurance has gone up, you know, about 100 bucks a month with no accidents or anything, you know, or cell phone, I mean, you get four phones on a cell phone bill, you're looking at 400 bucks a month, I mean, and I know a lot of people listening to this are thinking, you know, hey, I feel the same pain he does, you know, because it's real, you know. Well, here's the reality is, you know, I think you're headed down the right, in the right direction here. And I think we have to recognize that, you know, we're all, you know, everybody's listening to you and nodding their heads and saying, yeah, I feel like Paul as well, the things I know I should do, I don't, things I should, you know, and so as we look at this, I think the first step is to step back and do what you're doing.

And this is a great time of year to do it. Jonathan, for you and your wife, you know, spend a few hours just first of all in prayer, just asking the Lord, give us wisdom, help us to see what we need to see, help us to have the fortitude and the, you know, the endurance to make the hard decisions. And then you need to start to define your values, because before you get to financial decisions, and even before you get to goals, are your values as a Christ follower, and you're already talking about some of them, what's most, you know, what's important to us? Well, it's important to us to make memories with our kids, it's important to us to provide for them, it's important to us to live simply, it's really important to us to be able to give generously as I lead a congregation. And so as you begin to identify those, then those translate into goals, and then the goals translate into a spending plan, because ultimately your lifestyle spending, your monthly discretionary spending beyond just the things that are locked in, like the truck payment that's going away and the mortgage and the utilities, it's that discretionary spending that's going to get in the way. And that's where you and she need to have some hard conversations to say, listen, if, if our money management tells a story about what's most important to us, and we don't like the story it's telling, we've got to do something about it. And that may mean you get the kids involved and sit them down once you come up with the budget and say, listen, guys, we love you all, but one of the things we want to show you is that there's limited resources, and we've got to live on a plan. And let me talk to you about why we think it's so important that we can give generously.

And here's what that means. We're going to dial back and we're all going to make some sacrifices, but I think it's, you've got to get to the place where the values are defined, the goals are defined, and then that translates into a spending plan that actually reflects that. Listen, it's not going to work perfectly every month, but you've got to get to the place where you have a plan that works. You know, as you said, income's going up.

We got to fight not to increase lifestyle when that happens. The truck payment's going away. Great. What if that truck payment was redirected immediately into additional giving? I love that you are, you know, saving for the future. That's great.

Taking advantage of the match. But then once you have that spending plan in place, we've got to have a system that controls the flow of money in and out. That's why we created the FaithFi app.

That could be a tool. It doesn't matter which one you use, but you and your wife need probably a weekly money date to sit down and not point fingers, but to say, how did we do this week? And what course corrections do we need to make? And are we off plan with any of our envelopes?

You know, and how do we get back on track? Let me do this. I want to give you a six months of a pro subscription to the FaithFi app. That might be a tool in this, but hopefully this will get you pointed in the right direction. Hang on the line. 800-525-7000 is the number to call. We're going to continue taking your questions here in the final segment of the broadcast. Maybe room for one more question here in this next segment.

800-525-7000 is the number to call. This is faith and finance biblical wisdom for your financial decisions. We'll take a quick break and then be back with much more right after this. Stick around. Imagine having biblical financial wisdom delivered to your inbox every week, helping deepen your understanding of biblical stewardship. Start your journey today by creating your FaithFi account at faithfi.com.

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Great to have you with us today on faith and finance. I'm Rob West. We're taking your calls and questions today. 800-525-7000. That's 800-525-7000. Let's go back to the phones, Tampa, Florida. Hi Tammy, go ahead.

Hi Rob. So my question is, Drew Fox, can I keep an inherited IRA from my dad that I got in 2017 and can I keep that or do I have to somehow put it someplace else? Well, you have to start pulling the money out and you've probably been doing that along the way, I suspect. Is that true? Have you been taking required minimum distributions?

RMDs, yeah. Yeah, so because you inherited this as a non-spouse inherited IRA before 2020, because it all changed in 2020 as of January 1st, then you're probably under what's called the life expectancy method. So that just simply means you take required minimum distributions based on your life expectancy starting the year after the original account holder's death. And so basically the way that works is, you know, each year you would take the balance based on, you know, the account value and multiply that times the life expectancy factor that the IRS makes available.

And then that's the amount you have to take by December 31st of the year following, you know, of that year. And you do that until it's eventually depleted in full, but you don't need to do it any quicker than that. Okay. Okay. So I'm okay. So great. Thank you. That was my question. All right.

And then where you put that money is completely up to you. The only thing the IRS cares about is that you're taking it out based on the schedule that they provide. And if he had not had he started taking RMDs before you got it? Yes, he did.

His was a lot higher. Okay. So you may want to check, do you have a CPA or somebody that you work with to prepare your tax return?

I have an enrolled agent that does my every year. Yeah. Great.

And is he looked at that or she just to make sure you're doing this the way you need to? He never said anything. He, every year it's been for a long time, 10 years, and he's never said anything. So I just keep sending him my information and he sends it back and I pay taxes and that's simple. Okay, got it.

Yeah. So you because he took an RMD had started taking the RMDs, you know, you would have had the five year option, but it sounds like you're going under the life expectancy option and just make sure he's aware of that. But it sounds like you're doing everything properly. And again, you can put the money wherever you want.

The key is just that you take out at least the required minimum each year until it's eventually exhausted. Got it. Okay, I'll bring that to his attention next month when I send it all in. Very good. You're welcome, Tammy. Lord bless you. Thanks for your call today. Let's go to Lakeland. Hi, James. Go ahead.

Hey, hello. I'm 73 and in good health now. But in the future, if I should go to a nursing home, I know they can take everything I have. So how can I protect any assets I have from the nursing home taking it?

Yeah. So you give me a rundown of the assets that you have? Well, I have a home and about $100,000 in cash and securities.

Okay, got it. Yeah, I mean, so you the only thing you could do would be to put your assets into a trust, Medicaid asset protection trust or an irrevocable trust, essentially, but they do have a five year look back period. And, you know, the last thing we'd want to do is try to hide assets. I mean, the the idea here is, you know, that Medicaid would kick in once your assets have been depleted. And so, you know, they have limits as to the amount that you can have in most states, you've got to spend down spend down to less than $2,000 in countable assets to qualify for Medicaid.

Now, certain assets like your primary home up to a limit may not count toward this limit. But really, the only other way to do that other than, you know, just to spend that down and then rely on Medicaid would be to, you know, set up that irrevocable Medicaid trust. And you could go to an estate planning attorney to talk about that, perhaps an elder care attorney who specializes in that. The other option would be a Medicaid compliant annuity. And so there are insurance products, annuities, that, you know, that are Medicaid compliant, where an income stream isn't counted as an asset by Medicaid, but rather as income.

And so you could look at that. And then the other would be what's called a life estate, where you transfer it to your heirs while retaining a life estate. So you have the right to live in it for the rest of your life. And that could protect your home from Medicaid estate recovery.

So you could look at any of those options, I'd probably start with a, an attorney who specializes in elder care just to talk through your options. And you could involve a financial advisor as well. Does that make sense? Yes. But each one of those, they have to be at least five years time. Yes, typically. So now, but once you get back to pass the five year look back period, then then you would be fine there. I'm not sure whether the the five year look back would apply for the annuity if you wanted to go that route.

So that's where again, an elder care attorney could look at your specific situation, the laws of your state, because it does vary by state, and then tell you what options you have. All right. Thank you very much. Yes, sir. James, thank you for your call today. We appreciate it. We're going to finish today in Michigan.

Michael has been waiting patiently. Michael, you'll be our final caller. Go ahead, sir.

Thanks for taking my call, Rob. I'm 59 years old. I have everything paid off. I have a fully funded emergency fund. I'm contributing to my 401k.

So that's looking good. And I have about 200,000 that I would like to invest and just wanted to get your opinion. You know, there's lots of options. Obviously, I want to be somewhat conservative, but at the same time, I don't want to miss out on a good market and making money that can be used for the kingdom. So do you, you know, there's fixing annuities I can get for five and a half percent or do I jump on some of the crypto or what do you recommend? I mean, what I would recommend is going to sound pretty plain vanilla and that is just, you know, buy some high quality mutual funds that are balanced, you know, because it's 60, you would typically, you know, have maybe a 50 50 portfolio. If you want to be a little more aggressive, you could go 60 40 stocks to bonds, but I love the position you're in with the fully funded emergency fund, you've got the retirement assets, you're completely debt free. So you're in a really good spot here to take a little bit of risk, take a long term view. If the Lord tarries, you might need this money to last 30 to 40 years. And so, you know, let's invest it wisely.

You could align it with your values and use one of the faith based investing mutual funds like even tide or praxis or guide stone or want to send, you could use indexes, or you could just use, you know, actively managed funds, but I'd probably look for a balance in the in a fixed income fund, where you're going to participate in the rise in the prices of the bonds as the interest rates fall, and then some good high quality growth, mutual funds to complement that nothing terribly exciting, but you can kind of set it and forget it and watch it grow over the next couple of decades. I hope that helps. If you need some advice, you can connect with a CKA at faithfi.com. That's going to do it for us today. I hope you found something encouraging and helpful today. A big thanks to my team. I certainly couldn't do it without them. Amy, Dan, Taylor and Jim, may the Lord bless you and I hope you'll come back and join us next time on Faith and Finance. We'll see you then. Faith and Finance is provided by FaithFi and listeners like you.