Financial uncertainty doesn’t usually arrive all at once.
It creeps in slowly—job changes, pay cuts, unexpected expenses—until one day you realize the ground beneath you no longer feels solid.
For me, financial uncertainty brings back the last year and a half of my life. Changing jobs. Losing income. Watching finances that were already unstable become even more fragile. Bills falling behind. The constant fear that one more thing going wrong could cost us our house, our cars, or our basic utilities.
The emotion that rises to the surface first is fear.
Fear of losing what we’ve worked so hard to hold onto.
Fear of not being able to protect our family.
Fear of what happens if there’s no margin left.
And right alongside that fear came frustration—deep, exhausting frustration. I was discouraged by rejection after rejection while job searching. I have years of accounting experience, yet doors stayed closed because I don’t have a formal accounting degree. Being told “no” over and over again wears you down. It makes you question your worth, your decisions, and your future.
I didn’t have a moment where I gracefully realized I couldn’t carry it anymore.
I just carried it… until I couldn’t.
Until the weight turned into a mental breakdown and a dark season, I didn’t know how to climb out of.
In seasons like this, I need the reminder that God doesn’t wait for me to be strong before He draws near.
Psalm 34:18 says, “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.”
When Financial Uncertainty Becomes Mental Overload
Financial uncertainty isn’t just about numbers.
It’s about constantly checking your bank account, waiting for it to overdraft.
It’s hoping a paycheck hits early enough to cover automatic withdrawals you can’t change.
It’s avoiding the numbers entirely some days because looking at them feels unbearable.
1 Peter 5:7 says, “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.”
This verse doesn’t say anxiety means a lack of faith. It simply acknowledges that anxiety exists—and that God cares enough to carry it with us.
Being the “money person” in the family makes it even heavier. When you understand the numbers, you don’t get the luxury of not knowing. The responsibility follows you everywhere—into hospital rooms, sleepless nights, and moments when your emotional capacity is already gone.
Right now, we’re walking through medical challenges with our son that have caused even more lost income. Hospital stays that were supposed to be short turned into weeks. Recovery time stretches ahead, and the financial hole feels deeper just when we were beginning to catch our breath.
And when life is this overwhelming, even touching the bills feels impossible.
The Shame That No One Talks About
What I don’t hear talked about enough is the shame that comes with financial struggle—especially when you feel like you should know better.
I’m an accountant.
I help other people clean up their finances.
And yet here I am, feeling ashamed of the hole we’re in.
That shame can be relentless. I belittled myself during that season—and if I’m honest, I still do. I replay past choices, questioning decisions that led us here. I carry guilt for being anxious about money even though I believe God provides. I’ve seen Him provide. Time and time again.
Money hits the account just in time.
Enough gas to get to the next paycheck.
Just enough groceries to get through the week.
And still, the anxiety doesn’t magically disappear.
It’s hard to feel at peace when it feels like everything around you is collapsing.
Faith When Peace Doesn’t Come Easily
This is where I want to be honest—because pretending doesn’t help anyone.
I don’t have long, flowing conversations with God. I never really have. Even after being saved for years, prayer doesn’t always come naturally to me. Sometimes it’s just a sentence whispered in my head. Sometimes it’s frustration. Sometimes it’s silence.
And that’s been especially true in this season.
I know God provides. I believe that. I’ve seen it firsthand. But believing and feeling at peace are not the same thing—especially when you’re a planner, an overthinker, and someone who struggles with control.
Isaiah 26:3 says, “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.”
For someone like me, keeping my mind “stayed” on God doesn’t mean it never wanders. It means I keep bringing it back—again and again.
I want to be able to say, “God’s got this,” and feel calm.
But most days, my brain doesn’t quiet that easily.
What I’m learning—slowly—is that peace doesn’t always look like calm.
Sometimes it looks like continuing to show up even when your mind is loud.
Sometimes it looks like holding on rather than resting.
Seeing God’s Provision in Hindsight
One of the few things that helped me was looking back.
While writing my From the Trenches series, I began to see something I missed while living through it: God was there the whole time. Not in big, dramatic ways—but in small, sustaining ones.
We were provided just enough.
Not abundance. Not ease.
Just enough to stay afloat.
A bill paid on time.
A bank willing to work with us.
A situation resolving in a way we couldn’t have orchestrated ourselves.
Philippians 4:19 says, “And my God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”
Supply didn’t always look the way I hoped—but it showed up when we needed it most.
I didn’t see it clearly at the moment. But looking back, I can see His hand keeping us from drowning.
To the Mom Living in Financial Uncertainty Right Now
If you’re reading this while afraid to check your bank account…
If you feel ashamed because you think you should be handling things better…
If peace feels out of reach and control feels safer than surrender…
You are not alone.
Other moms have walked this road. Others are walking it right now. And many have made it through to the other side—even when they couldn’t see how at the time.
Galatians 6:9 says, “Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”
You don’t have to fix everything today.
You don’t have to feel peaceful to be faithful.
You just have to survive today without giving up.
Take it day by day.
Moment by moment if you need to.
It does get easier.
The tunnel doesn’t last forever.
And even when peace feels hard to grasp, you are still seen, loved, and held.
Reflection Questions
- Where do I feel the most financial fear or pressure right now?
- What thoughts keep looping in my mind when I think about money?
- Am I holding myself to a standard of peace that God never asked of me?
- Where have I seen “just enough” provision in this season, even if it didn’t feel like peace at the time?
- What would it look like to survive today without trying to solve everything at once?
- How can I extend myself grace in this season instead of shame?
Closing Prayer
Lord, I’m tired. I’m afraid. And I don’t have the answers I wish I did. You see the uncertainty I’m carrying—the numbers, the decisions, the pressure to hold everything together. You know the fear that sits in my chest and the thoughts that won’t quiet, even when I try to trust You. I don’t come to You today with perfect faith or calm confidence. I come with a heavy heart and a mind that won’t stop racing. Please meet me here—not when things are figured out, but right in the middle of the unknown. Help me release what I can’t control, even if only a little at a time. Remind me that surviving today is enough. Give me the strength to keep going when peace feels out of reach. Thank You for the ways You’ve already provided—sometimes quietly, sometimes just in time, sometimes in ways I didn’t recognize until later. Help me notice Your presence, even in the smallest moments. I place today in Your hands. Tomorrow can wait. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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