By Tim Russell, President & Wealth Manager at Life Financial Group
Originally shared on the Life in the Markets podcast — 05/05/2025
Good morning, and welcome to Life in the Markets with Life Financial Group. My name is Tim Russell, president and wealth manager here at Life Financial Group. Today is May 5th, 2025 — Cinco de Mayo — so happy Cinco de Mayo to you!
I’ve got a couple of market updates I’d like to share with you today.
Market Recap: Nine Straight Days of Gains
Last week brought two pretty important things from a calendar perspective. First, we experienced a full week of market activity — and this week marked nine straight days of positive returns in the S&P 500, the first time we’ve seen that since February 2022.
That’s obviously good news.
April’s Wild Ride
More significantly, we saw the end of a volatile month. If you paid attention at all, you know it was a wild ride. We started with moderate expectations and uncertainty about tariffs. Then on April 3rd, Donald Trump gave his Liberation Day speech, in which he outlined how he planned to play hardball with the rest of the world on trade.
As a result, the stock market imploded. April saw intense volatility.
But since hitting its lows, the S&P 500 has recovered nearly 18%. Yes — you read that right.
From April to April, despite the chaos, the market ended up basically flat for the month. Who would’ve imagined that back on April 4th during those market jitters? I sure didn’t.
A Lesson for Every Steward
This entire experience highlights a bigger lesson worth considering.
News and market volatility are always scary, but remember this:
News-driven market events often resolve in the direction of the primary trend prior to the news.
That’s my observation. We had a massive news shock, the market dropped, and within a few weeks, it recovered. Now we’re back above those prior highs.
I’m not predicting the future. I’m not saying tariffs or other global issues won’t matter. But I want to encourage you to take a breath:
God is in control.
If you’re feeling nervous or fearful about the markets, now is a good time to disconnect from the news and all the sources of fear. Let the market work itself out. There is nothing your worrying can do to change what the markets are going to do.
In fact, had you changed your investment strategy and pulled out of the market during the downturn, you would have missed the rally.
While I can’t guarantee the future, I can say with a fair degree of confidence:
With patience, we can sit tight during market downturns and expect recovery — not because we trust the market, but because we trust in God.
Looking Ahead
So what can we expect this week?
We’re in the middle of earnings season, and we’ll continue to receive more reports that indicate the strength of the economy. A lot of people are asking whether a recession is coming.
I’m not going to make that call. And frankly, for most of our clients, it’s not relevant. The economy is where it is right now — and the data is lagging. What we see in the reports simply reflects what the economy looked like weeks ago.
So give the process time. Stay grounded. Be patient.
A Word of Encouragement
This podcast isn’t just about market news — we also want to share biblical financial principles and encourage you to trust the Lord through it all.
Let me close today with a Scripture from 1 Timothy 6:6–10:
“But godliness with contentment is great gain… For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.”
There’s so much in that passage — I actually wrote a whole chapter about it in my book, The Good Steward. But I want to leave you with this reminder:
Godliness is not a means to gain.
We don’t worship God because He makes us rich.
We trust Him because He is good, holy, and worthy of our praise.
So trust Him.
Be content with what He has provided.
Don’t make money your life’s pursuit.
Make your relationship with God your pursuit — and the rest will work itself out.
Thank you so much for joining us on the very first episode of Life in the Markets with Life Financial Group. I’m Tim Russell. Be sure to subscribe, share this with others, and leave a review — it’s incredibly helpful.
Until next time,
Take care and God bless.
Disclaimer: The topics discussed in this blog and podcast are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific investment advice or recommendations. Investing involves risk, including potential loss of principal. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. Securities and advisory services offered through Genios Wealth Management, member FINRA and SIPC.
