Afraid of Next Year? Let's break that fear!

Does next year make you feel a little nervous? Prices rise and income feeling uncertain, Headlines changing every week.And somewhere in the back of your mind, you got a voice that keeps whispering, what if things get worse? Let me tell you right now, fear loves that question. But faith answers with something stronger. God will.Because here's the truth that most believers forget. God's provision isn't always abundance, but it's always enough. And. And today I want to help you trust that practically, not just spiritually.Hello, and welcome to the show. I'm Ralph.Thank you so much for joining me as we wrap up another great week of helping you break that cycle of financial shame and do it with confidence. A listener said to me, ralph, I'm honestly nervous about next year. Prices keep climbing, income feels shaky.Ralph, how do I trust God practically, not just spiritually, when I'm scared about provision? And I hear that, so easy to get scared, man. Things are going on around us that are just crazy sometimes.And, friend, if you felt that same knot in your stomach, you're not alone and feeling like that, I feel that sometimes, too. Headlines are changing by the week. Fear changes by the hour. But worry, let me tell you right now, worry is as old as humanity.People have been worrying since the beginning. But here's some reassurance. Through all those generations, through all those years of humanity, God's faithfulness has never wavered. One time.This is a bedrock verse. Psalm 23:1. The Lord is my shepherd. I lack nothing. Think about what a shepherd does. A shepherd's job is provision providing.And if the Lord is my shepherd, that burden of provision is his, not yours. And I've watched God meet needs in lean seasons of my life.I'm talking about times when I was like, lord, I'm leaning on you today, dude, because I don't know, I can't do this on my own. I've seen him lead it in chaotic seasons, unexpected seasons, and so many times in seasons that made no sense at all.I was like, God, I don't know what you're doing, dude, but amen. And praised God for those things.And I've worked with families who found peace when they planned wisely, when they trusted deeply and they watched God provide one day at a time. See, that is so much the secret sauce of it. Just one day at a time. But that practical planning doesn't replace faith. It strengthens it.A friend of mine was terrified of a slow quarter coming up in their business. They were so worried about Ralph this next year. I don't know what's going to happen. What did they do? They built a lean plan.They looked at their needs versus wants. Here's the things I've got to do. These are the things that I must do. They did that. They built a plan.But you know what they did that was even bigger than that? They prayed daily. I mean, they prayed incessantly. And they just sat there and watched God's provision. They tracked it.Did the income come in perfectly? Not at all. But every need was met exactly when they needed it. Not early, not excessive, just faithful. See, that's what provision really looks like.So here's the heart of today's message. How do you quiet the fear? How do you strengthen your faith? And how do you walk into next year with confidence instead of anxiety?Trust me, this is for me today too. Let's walk through it. I want to give you ways to build faith filled confidence. First thing, name the fear and answer it with scripture.If you've listened to my show for a while, you know I've said this before, Fear grows in the dark. Those shadows. Things you'd not be able to see. So bring it into the light. Identify the exact fear that you're feeling. Maybe it's your job.Maybe you're worried about losing your job. Business has been shaky. Maybe it's those bills. You're like, Ralph, I don't know how I'm going to pay the bills.The heating season in the east coast is coming. People are worried about cool warming their home. Maybe for you, like my wife, it's the grocery bill. Just keeps on climbing and climbing and climbing.Maybe for you it's medical costs. You know you're going through a season and I'm praying for you right now. Reach out to me and share with you. Going through.No matter what those things are, identify those fears. But write it down. Replace that fear loop with a truth loop. One of the things that I encourage people to do is speak scripture out loud.Speak it into that fear because truth is loud when it gives it breath. When fear speaks, let scripture answer another thing you can do. Build a needs first spending plan. You notice what I said there? Needs first. Yeah.We may go through seasons where we need to be lean, where we need to understand our needs versus the ones. Because that clarity will shrink anxiety. But you gotta have a plan for that. Start with the essentials. Here's the things I have to do.I have to have food, I gotta eat, I gotta have shelter. I gotta have a place to live. And I gotta have utilities. You gotta trim those ones for A season. Sometimes it's not punishment, it's protection.And when you plan like that, when you plan that need based first, it honored stewardship. And it multiplies peace. Because guess what happens. I've seen this in my own life.When you lean into that and you pray about it, God just meets you exactly where you need to be. And he doesn't meet you with abundance. Oftentimes you're like, wow, I mean, dude, I would rather have more, sure.But he meets you with what you need for today. Which leads me to this practice, daily gratitude. The fastest fear killer is gratitude. Because gratitude reframes what you see.Suddenly not enough becomes. Look what God carried me today. Look how he carried me today. Look at what he gave me.Gratitude shifts your attention from the uncertain future to a God's proven track record. You might study the market. The market has ups and downs, but God doesn't have those. He always provides for us.And that thankful heart, that grateful heart will suffocate that anxiety. One of the most concrete ways you can do that is to keep a provision journal. You might say, Ralph, here you go talking about journals again.But write down every moment of God's faithfulness, whether it be big or small. You're going to be amazed.When you look at the bills he paid, the help you receive, that unexpected discount you weren't expecting, that financial breakthrough. And a need met right on time. And over time, let me tell you right now, friend, you're going to see a pattern.God didn't fail you then, and he won't start failing you now. And that past becomes proof for your future. But you got to write it down.I love what Philippians chapter 4:19 says, and my God will meet all of your needs. But how about 1st Peter 5, 7, cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Your needs matter to God, not your numbers.Your needs matter to him. How about we pray together? Lord, we'd ask you right now in this season to replace my fear with trust in you, Lord. You've promised me provision.You're never going to leave me. You're never going to forsake me, Lord. And right now, at this moment, teach me to recognize your Enough. Not my enough.Open my eyes to see that daily provision. Lord, help me to live in gratitude. Help me to live in appreciation for all the things you've given me. And I just ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.Okay, here's your one action item for today. I want you to just write down one fear. You have about 2026. Just write it down on paper.Then right next to it I want you to write Philippians 4:19 right next to it. Right next to it. And start a simple three line provision journal today. Here's what I want you to write down every day.Today's need, today's fear and today's provision. That's simple. Today's need is what I need for today. Today's fear. Here's what I'm fearing today and God's provision.And just watch how God writes the story for you. He's got a beautiful novel ready for your life. And right now I want to invite you to join our financially confident Christian community.Let's walk into the new year together. This is a place where we can pray and we can plan and we can trust together.We're going to have practical tools there, daily encouragement and it's going to be a safe, faith filled community for weary hearts. We're already posting stuff out there. If you join this, you can get our show every day. You get our blog post every day.We're going to be posting some daily prayers coming up with the new year. I want to encourage you to join. You can be one of our foundational members. It's absolutely free. Financiallyconfidentchristian.com/join.Why don't you join today? Come be a part of the movement again. That's financiallyconfidentChristian.com/join. You don't have to face the next year alone.Do it with our community friend. God has carried you this far. He's not going to stop. And fear fades when faith is fed and his enough is always enough.So walk into next year trusting a shepherd who always provides. Go out there today and be a financially confident Christian. You can do this. The Lord is with you. He's always with you. Stay financially savvy.God bless you and you have a great day today.