Solomon, the wisest man to walk the earth before Jesus Christ came, wrote these words in Ecclesiastes:

Ecclesiastes 3:1-2  To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

Ecclesiastes 3:6-7  A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak.

As others have written, there are different seasons in life — planting in the spring, watering and weeding in the summer, and harvesting in the fall. There is also a time to put away a great deal of goods into our storehouses/bank accounts and a time to put in less. There is a time to give out of our storehouses and a time to save. One lesson here is that if you do not plant in the spring when the times are prosperous, there will be nothing to harvest in the fall, and the winter can be a time of mourning.

Winters in life can be any number of things such as a loss of a job, an accident, slowing of the economy or another emergency.

These lessons are taught in the Bible. Remember Joseph? He saved diligently 20% of the crops for seven years. At first, what he saved may have seemed like a pittance in the bottom of the vast granaries. It is the same with us. At first, the money saved may seem insignificant, but over time it will become much greater if we are faithful.

Most people spend and consume a lot during times of plenty, but when the cycle turns, they have nothing to fall back on. God teaches us to save during those times of plenty. The record of Joseph is in the Bible for a reason. Then in Proverbs, God gives us the example of the ant. Ants fill their storehouses all summer during times of plenty so that when the winters of life come, they have an abundance to sustain them.

We, too, can smooth out the rough patches in the economic cycles we live in by diligently filling our storehouses in the good years. This is a lesson that the wealthy have learned. Then when the lean times come, and come they will, they have the funds to do what Joseph did. Joseph used what he had stored to accomplish two things:

1. He fed the people by selling the stored grain.
2. The people gave him their cattle, their jewels, and their land in payment for the food.

They had not saved during the times of plenty. Eventually, they even sold themselves as slaves to Pharoah so that they could have something to eat and stay alive.

We can learn a similar lesson from the wealthy. They save diligently during times of great prosperity while others are spending, and when the dark days come, they have the funds to buy the bankrupt businesses, houses, etc. for pennies on the dollar. This is one way fortunes are built.

Luke 19:24-26“Then, turning to the others standing nearby, the king ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one who has ten pounds. ‘But, master,’ they said, ‘he already has ten pounds!’ ‘Yes,’ the king replied, ‘and to those who use well what they are given, even more will be given. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away.

If we use well what God has given us by giving, saving, and staying out of debt, He can trust us with even more. God may show you at times how to help people. In the church, there is always a need for finances to run the church. At times, there may be a need to build hospitals, youth camps, retirement centers, and a need to support missionaries. George Muller gave thousands of dollars for Bibles to send to other countries.

Our great desire should be to walk with our Father, believe His Word, and see His promises come to pass in our lives. Faithfulness with our finances is a wonderful place to start this adventure with our Father into The Prosperous Life He desires for us.