I oversee the financial record keeping and reporting for our church. For years the most difficult part of that process for me was the bank reconciliation, which involves confirming that our financial books agree with our bank’s records. When everything went smoothly, the bank reconciliation would take about an hour. When I ran into problems, it could take three to six hours and even require calling tech support from the company who supports our financial software. Along the way I asked several technicians for a suggestion on how to simplify this process, but none of the suggestions helped.
The onset of all this difficulty was when we started receiving online and digital donations. Over a period of about two years this was a major burden to me. Each month, I would pray for wisdom to solve any problems that arose, but in addition I prayed for a wider solution, a new system that resolved the complexity of the reconciliations.
That wisdom finally came to me in November of 2023. As I lay in bed one night, I analyzed our financial process and finally was able to imagine how to create an Excel worksheet that would keep all the income streams in their proper categories. I created that worksheet right away. Eight months have passed since then, and the reconciliation process has been smooth ever since. That bit of wisdom has saved me dozens of hours of frustrating work and changed what was a major problem into a routine project.
What tech support could not solve, praying for wisdom did.
Learn more about praying for wisdom in my new book, available now on Amazon.
Whom do you know who needs to solve a stubborn problem in their finances, work, family, health, or relationships, and could benefit from Know? Buy them a copy today. It could change the rest of their lives.