Some have said, "poverty is Godly."

God wants people to be poor? Poverty is Godly? I beg to differ. His Word says otherwise.  Over and over God talks about... dare I say the word... prosperity?! (Although I'm not going into the word prosperity today, I'm going to talk about being poor.)

Psalm 113:7 (NASB)He raises the poor from the dust And lifts the needy from the ash heap, 

(NLT) He lifts the poor from the dust and the needy from the garbage dump.

 (HCSB) He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the garbage pile

So, if God intends to "lift the poor from the dust and the needy from the garbage dump" then obviously it isn't Godly to be "poor."  

A "kingdom divided against itself can not stand." (Mark 3:24)  If God intended for His people to be poor, He wouldn't lift anyone out of it.

Maybe, just maybe, He provides a way out.  As a matter of fact, I know He does because that is my story.  There was a time that we had NOTHING.  We were homeless (didn't have a home or money to stay in one).   

So, how did God lift us out of poverty?  With faith.  With rhema words from Him.  With specific instructions on what to do.  With the Holy Spirit telling us exactly what to do to "step out on faith."

What is faith?  It's not religion.  It's not going to church.  The Bible says, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1)

Hope isn't wishing.  Hope isn't... well... maybe God will and maybe He won't.  Those words "hoped for" in Hebrews 11:1 mean something.

According to Strong's hoped for means:

To expect or confide (have, thing)

We have watered down the word hope to basically mean wish.  That's not at all what God meant by "hope for."  The words mean to "EXPECT."

Because of what the rest of the Bible says, I can EXPECT God to keep His word and do what He says He will do.

So, we found verses that said God would help us and we spoke them.  We planted them deep into our hearts and expected God to do exactly what He said He would!  That's hope!

And guess what?!!  He did!

Are you going through a hard time and need to see the hand of God move mightily in your situation?  What does the Word say?  It is still relevant today. His promises still apply to your situation thousands of years after they were written.  

God keeps His word.