Hi Jacko,
I know your question wasn't directed at me, but thought I'd chime in.
I'm from a very frugal family and though I hated it as a kid, I now tell my parents the best thing they taught me was delayed gratification. Out of the very first money I earned as an allowance, my parents made me give part to the church as a tithe and save another part before I could touch any of the rest. I'm very thankful for this now, as these are disciplines that have stuck with me through my life.
I always had a family member who invested for me. I'd deposit what I wanted to save, and that person would make the decisions. I tried to learn, but it all felt like a foreign language I couldn't master. However, about 3 years ago, I felt as if God literally woke me up and said, "You need to start learning this on your own."
For some reason, I couldn't seem to learn before (part of it was my own disinterest at the time,) but for almost 3 years, I have been slowly learning through YouTube channels and articles on sites like Seeking Alpha. I've often wondered if I have an undiagnosed learning disorder (at least in some areas,) but God helps me bit by bit. I also slowly learned about options, though it took me 8 months to sell a covered call by myself, and a few years after that to learn to sell a cash secured put. There are hundreds of other more complex strategies but these are considered some basics that I feel are within the realm of learning God has currently given me.
When you ask if God gives you guidance on when to sell (and I'm assuming you also wonder if He might tell you when/what to buy,) I would say this is an area where a Christian has to be careful. Some might think they can use God as a stock market prophet who will tell them when to buy and sell at all the most profitable times. I read a newsletter from a Christian man who was convinced one year that "God" had told him there was going to be a huge bull market that year -- and he was wrong -- but yet he'd told his newsletter recipients that "God" was going to bless them with a large bull run that year.
I was also in a church where I can distinctly remember someone with a "prophetic gift" telling us that this coming year, 2008, was going to be as if the number 8 was turned on its side and representing two zero's instead of the 8. She interpreted this as 2008 being 200 + 00 + 20,000 -- and a year of double prosperity. Well, in the United States, 2007-2008 turned out to be the time of the great housing crash, which turned out to be the exact opposite for most people. Now it's true that for anyone who had money to invest during those times, they made a killing as the market eventually went back up. But I'm guessing those were far and few between, and no one knew if or how long it would take to ever recover.
And of course, maybe this "prophecy" meant spiritual prosperity (I would imagine people had to learn to trust in God a lot more as they were losing everything.) But I personally believe that all I can do is ask God for wisdom in helping me make the best decisions I can and educate myself as much as possible -- just like with everything in life.
God might also have it on His mind to bless you in a financial way for the benefit of others and not yourself. I've had several times in my life where I had earned and saved a little extra and God would say something like, "I want you to use this to pay off X's medical bill." So I think it's important to remember that the blessings we seek from God are not always for the purpose of our own benefit or enjoyment. I in turn also had a situation in which I was facing a very large, unexpected bill -- but no one magically came to help me -- and God seemed to be telling me I needed to work it out on my own. In my own moment of weakness, I had kind of thought that since God had directed me to help someone, He would direct someone to help me, but that's not what happened, and it was a good lesson in learning to obey without expecting any of the same in return.
Please forgive me, but I've noticed that several of your threads have been asking questions about financial matters -- how much one needs to be considered rich; when people retired and what kind of finances they have; why Jews in the USA are wealthy; and now Bitcoin. There's nothing wrong with asking about these things, and I'm always interested in talking to fellow Christian investors, too.
But I also couldn't help but wonder, is there anything particular about finances that you would like prayer for?
I know your question wasn't directed at me, but thought I'd chime in.
I'm from a very frugal family and though I hated it as a kid, I now tell my parents the best thing they taught me was delayed gratification. Out of the very first money I earned as an allowance, my parents made me give part to the church as a tithe and save another part before I could touch any of the rest. I'm very thankful for this now, as these are disciplines that have stuck with me through my life.
I always had a family member who invested for me. I'd deposit what I wanted to save, and that person would make the decisions. I tried to learn, but it all felt like a foreign language I couldn't master. However, about 3 years ago, I felt as if God literally woke me up and said, "You need to start learning this on your own."
For some reason, I couldn't seem to learn before (part of it was my own disinterest at the time,) but for almost 3 years, I have been slowly learning through YouTube channels and articles on sites like Seeking Alpha. I've often wondered if I have an undiagnosed learning disorder (at least in some areas,) but God helps me bit by bit. I also slowly learned about options, though it took me 8 months to sell a covered call by myself, and a few years after that to learn to sell a cash secured put. There are hundreds of other more complex strategies but these are considered some basics that I feel are within the realm of learning God has currently given me.
When you ask if God gives you guidance on when to sell (and I'm assuming you also wonder if He might tell you when/what to buy,) I would say this is an area where a Christian has to be careful. Some might think they can use God as a stock market prophet who will tell them when to buy and sell at all the most profitable times. I read a newsletter from a Christian man who was convinced one year that "God" had told him there was going to be a huge bull market that year -- and he was wrong -- but yet he'd told his newsletter recipients that "God" was going to bless them with a large bull run that year.
I was also in a church where I can distinctly remember someone with a "prophetic gift" telling us that this coming year, 2008, was going to be as if the number 8 was turned on its side and representing two zero's instead of the 8. She interpreted this as 2008 being 200 + 00 + 20,000 -- and a year of double prosperity. Well, in the United States, 2007-2008 turned out to be the time of the great housing crash, which turned out to be the exact opposite for most people. Now it's true that for anyone who had money to invest during those times, they made a killing as the market eventually went back up. But I'm guessing those were far and few between, and no one knew if or how long it would take to ever recover.
And of course, maybe this "prophecy" meant spiritual prosperity (I would imagine people had to learn to trust in God a lot more as they were losing everything.) But I personally believe that all I can do is ask God for wisdom in helping me make the best decisions I can and educate myself as much as possible -- just like with everything in life.
God might also have it on His mind to bless you in a financial way for the benefit of others and not yourself. I've had several times in my life where I had earned and saved a little extra and God would say something like, "I want you to use this to pay off X's medical bill." So I think it's important to remember that the blessings we seek from God are not always for the purpose of our own benefit or enjoyment. I in turn also had a situation in which I was facing a very large, unexpected bill -- but no one magically came to help me -- and God seemed to be telling me I needed to work it out on my own. In my own moment of weakness, I had kind of thought that since God had directed me to help someone, He would direct someone to help me, but that's not what happened, and it was a good lesson in learning to obey without expecting any of the same in return.
Please forgive me, but I've noticed that several of your threads have been asking questions about financial matters -- how much one needs to be considered rich; when people retired and what kind of finances they have; why Jews in the USA are wealthy; and now Bitcoin. There's nothing wrong with asking about these things, and I'm always interested in talking to fellow Christian investors, too.
But I also couldn't help but wonder, is there anything particular about finances that you would like prayer for?
I was a professional portfolio manager in commercial real estate in my prior profession currently in need of employment. So it was my job to maximize ROI for the inventors. Living in So Cal is very expensive, so I’m trying to figure it all out and come with a right perspective on things. Things that we can do on our own to benefit our situation and also things that we need to rely on God for.
Unlocking the blessings from the Bible, yes i believe there are biblical principals which I’m now learning.
Prayjng and reading the Bible all day I believe God did tell me isn’t the answer, against although I can’t be sure it was his voice or my thoughts. . I believe he said I need to act. I need a plan… and most importantly praying for discernment.
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