Did you ever find yourself lying awake at night?

Your mind's just racing.

You can't seem to settle.

You're staring at that ceiling.

You're thinking about your bills.

Maybe you're thinking about all your debts, or maybe you're just thinking how

you're gonna make it all work this month.

If money worries are stealing your peace and making you feel alone,

Hey there.

Welcome back to your Daily, financially Confident Christian.

I'm Ralph and it's really great to be with you today.

This is the show that helps you answer that question, how do I become

a financially confident Christian?

More importantly, how do I break that cycle of financial

shame and do it with confidence?

Now we're starting a brand new series today, and it's one that touches almost

every single person I talk to at some point during their lives, and that's

dealing with the stress of money worries.

And my goal is always is to help you break that cycle of financial shame

and step into financial confidence while keeping it rooted in your faith.

So over the next few weeks in this series, we're gonna go through this together.

Today, we're starting right at the heart of it.

We're tacking a question you might have whispered to

yourself in those quiet moments.

Am I the only one losing sleep over money?

Think for a second.

Have you asked yourself that question?

Am I the only one losing sleep over money?

See, you see, I'm feeling of being alone with your money.

Stress.

It's heavy.

It truly is heavy, isn't it?

You know, maybe you're a single mom and you're trying to raise your children

on your own, and you're working hard to even put food on the table, and

it just seems like that grocery bill just gets bigger and bigger each week.

Or maybe you work hard, but you feel like you're constantly

playing catch up with your bills.

Maybe it's one unexpected expense and it throws you completely off track.

And see alongside that stress, there's often this quiet shame and

we tend to think we should have it all together, especially if

we're trying to live out our faith.

So we keep those worries to ourselves.

We put on a brave face while inside that anxiety is building.

At times it feels like there's no hope.

It feels like we've just lost a battle and see that feeling

of isolation, that belief, your struggles are unique and shameful.

It's a major source of stress.

It keeps you stuck.

It prevents you from seeking help, and it makes the burden feel 10 times

worse than it actually needs to be.

And here's the thing about that isolation.

It thrives in the dark.

Lemme say that again.

That isolation, it thrives in the dark.

We often don't talk about money struggles because it feels too taboo.

You don't talk about money, or we're afraid of being judged even within

our loving church communities.

But carrying this burden alone, that's exactly what the enemy wants.

He wants you to feel isolated.

He wants you to feel defeated and he wants you to feel ashamed.

He wants you to feel all these things so you don't seek that light or seek

the support that God intends for you.

The Bible calls us into community to bear one another's burdens.

Just look at Galatians chapter six, verse two.

It says this, and this is beautiful.

It says, carry each other's burdens and in this way.

You'll fulfill the law of Christ and see, a lot of people don't get it.

This isn't just about emotional burdens.

It applies to practical ones too, including that financial stress.

You gotta understand, God provides community as a source of strength.

He provides community as a source of wisdom, and he provides community as

a source of encouragement for you.

If you're hiding your financial worries, it goes against the very design of

how God wants us to live and how he wants us to support each other.

So what can we do?

How do we combat this isolation and that shame that comes along with it?

How do we stop feeling like we're the only ones going through it?

I've got the answer.

The single most powerful solution is to break the silence.

Yes, break the silence and invite someone safe into your struggle.

Now, listen, this doesn't mean broadcasting your entire

financial history to the world.

I've seen way too many people on social media posts do just that.

I'm not suggesting that at all.

I'm not suggesting that you do that at all, but it does mean

choosing one trusted person.

Maybe it's your spouse.

Maybe it's a close friend, a family member, or maybe even a

mature believer that you respect.

And just start by simply and open up even just a little about the fact that

you're experiencing financial stress.

See, bringing your worry into the light with a trusted person, it

immediately starts to lessen its power and break that shame attached to it.

And now you're thinking, okay, Ralph, that sounds great, but

how do we do that practically?

Well, I've got the solution.

Here's your one action step for today, specifically aimed at

fighting that feeling of isolation.

I want you to start by identifying one safe person.

I want you to think for a few minutes, think of that person

in your life whom you trust.

That person.

You're always that go-to person, that person who is wise and that

person who you feel would respond with grace and not judgment.

You definitely don't want somebody that's gonna judge you.

You want them to have grace.

You want them to be wise.

Somebody you trust and I wanna encourage you, just write their name down.

Do that right now.

And then the second thing I want you to do is do a little planning.

I want you to plan your approach, and I want you to keep it simple.

You don't have to have all the details worked out, but I want

you to plan what you're gonna say.

It could be something as simple as, Hey, Joe Sally, I've been feeling

pretty stressed about finances lately, and I was wondering if I could just

share a little bit with you sometime.

See, that could be the opening to the start a conversation.

That's all it needs to be.

And then the next thing you do, once you've figured out that person

and, and your approach for them, I want you to pray for courage.

Before you reach out, I want you to just pause and pray because you know,

and this is a little Ralph truism this morning, we need to do more of this.

We need to take time and just pause our lives for just a moment.

Our, our lives get too hectic, too many things going on all the time.

We just need to pause sometimes and just simply pray.

Just reach out to God for the courage to be vulnerable, ask for his guidance

in putting together this conversation.

And once you've selected the person, you've planned your approach,

you've prayed about it, I'm gonna encourage you to take that step

and reach out to that person.

Reach out to them today, either in person, maybe with a phone call, just

call him, Hey Joe, Sally, hey, I really need to talk to you about something.

Or maybe for you it's texting, even if it's a text that if

that feels more manageable.

I'm just gonna encourage you, take that first step of breaking

the silence and do it today.

And now you're probably asking Ralph, why does this help?

See?

Because it helps because taking this one step, it directly fights that struggle

of isolation and that struggle of shame, as we talked about, it brings your

difficulty into the light and allow someone else to help carry that burden.

Just like it says in Galatians six two, it describes it there.

And it opens the door for prayer and potentially for

some truly practical support.

And it puts you on a path towards community, not solitary stress.

Well, let's pray together right now.

Father God, I just wanna thank you for seeing us right where we

are with all of our worries, and with all of our fears about money.

We confess the temptation to hide

and Lord, we confess the temptation to feel shame.

Believing we're the only ones struggling.

And Lord, we just thank you for the gift of community and for calling us

to share our burdens with each other.

And Lord, I just pray specifically for my friend listening right now.

I just pray that you would give them the courage to identify that one safe person.

And then take that brave step of breaking the silence today.

Lord, we ask that you would guide their conversation, bring your peace

into their heart as they share.

And let them feel your presence and the support of your people.

And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen.

And let me just tell you something, you are absolutely not alone.

You are not the only one stressed about money.

You don't have to carry this burden alone anymore.

I wanna encourage you, take that action step today.

Reach out to your one safe person.

You are so much stronger and more supported than you think, and

you're building amazing habits here.

And if this episode resonated with you, do me a huge favor and

consider sharing it with someone else who might need to hear it.

There's a lot of people that are feeling this fear and this stress about it.

And as we start this series together again today, I wanna

give you something to help you.

I wanna give the first a hundred listeners to go to financially

confident christian.com/master, and I'll put this in into show notes.

I'm gonna give you a free copy of my book.

That book is called Mastering Your Finances.

It's just 47 pages.

It's a great starting point for you on the journey to becoming a

financially confident Christian, and it's yours for free.

Just by going to financially confident christian.com/master.

I really wanna share this impactful resource with you, and

I wanna share it with you today.

It may be the very tool you need right now to break that cycle of financial

shame and move into your next season of confidence, and tomorrow we'll

be talking about the next practical step after you break that silence.

It's how to look at your finances honestly, without letting fear take over.

You don't wanna miss it.

So make sure you join me tomorrow and let's All go out there

and be financially confident.

Christians, you can do this.

I have confidence in you.

Have confidence in yourself.

Stay financially savvy.

God bless you, and you have a wonderful and great day today.

Thank you for joining us today on the Financially Confident Christian Show

where we're breaking the cycle of financial shame with confidence and faith.

If you found value in this episode, a simple click to subscribe

means you'll be invited right back for our next conversation.

And remember, financial challenges don't have to be overwhelming.

Just ask Ralph.

This show is a production of Ask Ralph Media and is supported

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The information shared in this episode is based on data available

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content if circumstances change.

Please note that applying this information to your personal situation

requires careful consideration.

This episode is not intended to serve as financial, tax or legal advice.

Always consult your trusted tax advisor or attorney before taking action

based on anything we've discussed.