When the Market Crashed, He Chose to Put His Hope in God

Frank Wible
Jul 22
2 min read

Nathan wasn’t flashy, but he was successful. He built his business from the ground up, stayed humble in interviews, tithed generously, and mentored younger entrepreneurs. People said things like, “He’s a kingdom-minded man.” And maybe he was , on the surface.

Man sits at a desk, head in hands, in front of two monitors showing red stock graphs. Dimly lit room conveys stress and tension. — The numbers crashed. But what scared him more was how much they owned him.

But when the market turned, it wasn’t humility that filled his heart. It was fear. Clients vanished. Contracts fell apart. What was once a multi-million dollar portfolio bled dry in less than four months. Nathan didn’t sleep. He didn’t pray. He stared at screens, watching numbers disappear like sand through fingers.

He kept telling himself he trusted God. But the anxiety in his chest said otherwise. His security wasn’t built on Scripture, it was built on spreadsheets. And when those crashed, so did he. Not morally. Not financially. Spiritually. He didn’t know who he was without the income. And that scared him more than the loss itself.

Late one night, alone in his home office, he opened his Bible out of desperation, not devotion. The verse that stared back at him hit hard: “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth... but to put their hope in God.” He didn’t feel rich anymore, but he finally realized where his hope had been.

Nathan didn’t hear an audible voice. But the conviction was loud. He had built his peace on what could be lost, not on the One who never changes. That night, he repented. Not for being successful, but for letting success become his comfort.

Man in a dark room prays with clasped hands over an open book under a desk lamp's light, expressing contemplation and solemnity. — It wasn’t sin that brought him to his knees. It was spiritual misalignment.

The road back wasn’t financial. It was foundational. Nathan kept the business running but downsized his life. He spent more time with his wife and kids. He opened up to his men’s group, not with tips for growth, but truths about fear. And he finally started asking for prayer.

Over time, the business stabilized. Not to its old level, but to something better, something sustainable. But Nathan’s real win wasn’t in the bank. It was in the soul. His peace no longer rose and fell with the market. It was anchored.

Now when young men come to him looking for business advice, Nathan always starts the same way: “Be excellent. Work hard. But don’t ever confuse provision with the Provider.” And then he tells them what no one told him early on, put your hope in God. Everything else will shake eventually.

Nathan still checks the markets. Still runs the company. But now, when things dip, he smiles, not because it’s easy, but because he finally knows where his foundation is. And this time, it won’t crash.

What’s your biggest struggle when it comes to money and faith?