Your Home Is In Jesus

I have been working in the real estate industry since 2014. I’ve worked as a property manager, a buyer’s agent, seller’s agent, and as a real estate investor and landlord. In so many ways, I have seen how a house can be an extreme blessing, but I have also seen how deciding on where to live can bring times of extreme stress. 

My husband and I have been personally feeling a lot of the stresses ourselves here in the Denver Metro real estate market as housing and living expenses have skyrocketed. It has put us into a position of worry and stress ourselves as we seek to find ways to stick within our monthly budget. Needless to say, we have had to make cuts and even some tough decisions with our finances in order to live within our means and still save money for the future. 

One of the tough decisions we have been praying over diligently is our housing. The practical side of me says we need to move far away from Denver in order to continue to enjoy the lifestyle we do today. But at the same time, we feel God calling us to the ministry we have with our church, neighbors, and community here where we live. 

I have spent many moments stressing out over this jam that we are in trying to figure out what is the most honoring to the Lord. Do we make a wise financial decision? Or do we let go of practical money wisdom and simply trust God to provide for us? 

Because this financial decision revolves around where we live, it really has me seriously thinking about what a home truly is. God has revealed to me that I have forgotten not where my home is, but WHO my home is. The Lord is my refuge. He is my fortress. 

While I can spend tons of waking hours fretting over what we should do about our living situation, God says that there is no need to. He has his arms open wide, reminding me that I can take refuge in his grace knowing that I am under the protection of a loving Father. I can let go of the anxiety I feel when I think about the very real possibility of our rent increasing at the end of our lease. I can let go of trying to scramble to figure out all the details as to how we will make it fit within our budget. And as I let go of these worries, I must grab hold of the one who will carry me through. 

If you are going through a financially stressful time too, I invite you to pray this prayer out loud – 

Father, you are good. I know that you love me and will never forsake me. I know that you are my refuge and fortress, the one in whom I can trust. Help me to make this head knowledge into heart knowledge. Thank you for carrying me through the tough financial times when paying for everything I have on my plate seems nearly impossible. Even though I say this through gritted teeth, I am thankful for the stressful moments you allow me to go through because it really does remind me that it is not by my own works that I am provided for. Yahweh, you are the one who I need to rely on – not my paycheck, not the economy, not my investments, nor my bank account. I trust that you are making a way even when it seems like there is no way. Thank you, Father.