Warren Buffet, arguably the most successful and famous investment guru on the planet, has a ton of great quotes about how investor’s should behave amidst adverse market conditions.

“Be fearful when everyone is greedy and greedy when everyone is fearful.”

But what does he mean, exactly? Well, he means act contrary to trends. Do the opposite of what the investing masses are doing. Be wary in excessively good times and take advantage of the down times. I could go on and on.

I was reading something on yahoo finance about a double-dip recession, falling home prices, and unfavorable job numbers, and I found that pesky little voice of fear and despair rising up in my throat. I immediately begin imagining the worst. In my mind, I would soon be sweeping up a dirt floor in a one room shack in the shanty-town, a kin to all the images of suffering associated with the Great Depression. Seriously!

Naturally, all of this happened just after I wrote out my tithe check that I intended to mail that very afternoon. It was a perfectly timed attack from the enemy. I read the article, I looked down at the check sitting on my desk, and my first instinct was to tear up the check and justify myself by saying, “I need to save…in case of the worst!” But thankfully, in His mercy, I was reminded of a Kingdom principal about giving that parallels Warren Buffet’s investing mantra that I quoted earlier.

When everyone is saying hoard and save ….God is saying “give.” When the media is propagating fear and anxiety….God is saying “trust.” He, who is good, knows how to give good gifts to His children, and He has promised to supply all of our needs. There is no worldly comfort that could compare with the promise of His presence, and there is no depression, recession, or recovery, that could 1) separate us from His provision and 2) strip of the joy and confidence we have in the goodness of His plan for our lives.

Don’t let the enemy crowd your mind with fear about your finances, friends! Give joyfully with the confidence that you serve a God who has promised to richly bless you in your obedience and supply your every need.