Introduction
Everyone feels a little stuck sometimes.
We all go through periods of time when we feel like we can’t seem to get ahead in an area of our lives. Feeling held back or limited in our finances can be especially frustrating for us as believers, especially if we’ve been taught that God isn’t interested in helping us in this area of our lives.
But...is God actually disinterested in our finances? Does He want us to struggle in this area of our lives? Or does His Word promise something different?
The truth is, God promises you more than enough when it comes to your finances or business. Just take a look at Deuteronomy 8:18, for example, which says, “And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth” (NKJV).
If God’s Word says that He gives us the power to get wealth, then He wants you prospering, enjoying the fruit of your hard work, able to be a blessing to others financially, and able to give toward helping others to learn about Jesus.
God’s promises for your life are the best!
Now, just because God has promised something in the Bible doesn’t mean that we as believers will automatically walk that promise out. We need to partner with God by first renewing our minds to the truth of His will, then combining our efforts with His power in us to walk out His best plans for our lives by His grace.
God’s grace is His power, ability, unearned favour and full provision for your life, and you gain access to it the moment you begin a relationship with Him. There is no lack of God’s grace in your life, but to set it in motion, you need to believe. However, you can’t stop there. You need to take corresponding actions. You see, when you begin to believe something, you act differently.
What are some practical steps you can take to prepare yourself to receive God’s supernatural provision?
Get a Vision
Never forget that we are all called to increase.
And remember, when God presents us with an opportunity, He already has a supply in mind.
When God gives you a vision, He also gives you the provision. If God is giving you the opportunity to increase and it’s going to require that you take on a partner or hire more staff, He already has people in mind. He is empowering you to head out and find the people and the resources you need to make that vision happen.
He’s not calling you to work so hard that you’re stressed out and frazzled. He’s not calling you to sacrifice your family and relationships for your career. But he is calling you to increase.
Let him guide you because his yoke is easy and his burden is light. Spend time with him and you’ll begin to see what he has in mind. And if it’s God’s vision, there’s going to be provision.
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)
God has great plans in mind for you, but it’s up to you to train your mind to stay focused on those paths.
We need to remember that God has good plans for us, a good provision for us, and He will empower us as we seek out and spend time with people who have solved the problems we’re facing. We need to find good resource materials and focus our minds on the problem-solving ideas they present so we can move toward the solution. Most importantly we need to ask God to help us find the answers we need.
Stay focused on God’s good plans and provision and let Him help you build a great future.
Expand Your Expectations
Did you know that God wants you to expect more from Him?
People might get frustrated when we expect a lot of them, but God is the opposite. He doesn’t want you to expect too little!
God wants to expand the way you think about your relationships, your finances, your career, your home life, your friends, and every other area of your life. He has new, expanded dreams for you, and if you’re open to it, He will show them to you and help you make them happen!
In Psalm 78, we can read about how Israel limited God by expecting too little. They lacked trust in His promise and in His ability to empower them to grab hold of that promise. As a result, they remained stuck in the desert on the edge of their promised land for 40 years. If only they would have expected more of God!
Have you ever capped God’s blessings in your life? Have you thought, “Well, that’s probably the best God’s going to do for me.” When all the jugs and bowls were full, she said to one of her sons, “Another jug, please.” He said, “That’s it. There are no more jugs.” Then the oil stopped. 2 Kings 4:5-6 (MSG)
Take a look at the story in 2 Kings 4 when a widow received a miracle that saved her and her two sons. The prophet Elisha instructed her to gather as many jars as she could, and then to begin pouring oil from the jar she had into these vessels. It’s interesting to note is that the oil only stopped flowing when they ran out of vessels. What would have happened if they had gathered more? At a certain point, she and her sons decided that they had gathered enough. In their case, they had more than what they needed to pay off their debt, but have you capped God’s blessings somewhere in your life? Have you underestimated His generosity and provision?
Are you expecting too little from God in your finances? God wants you to expect more. Jesus said that He came so we could have and enjoy life to the full, and He was talking about this lifetime. I’m not saying that He promises your life will be problem-free, but this promise is expansive and all-inclusive.
The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows). John 10:10 (AMPC)
You can align your thinking with Jesus’ thinking. Contrary to what we often think, Jesus had no problem enjoying life. He lived and laughed with people, and we are empowered to follow His example!
I want to encourage you to believe for more, because God’s blessings are unlimited. Whether it’s for your family, finances, restoration or healing, believe that God’s favour is on your life because you are in Christ.
In fact, let’s claim the promise in John 10:10 right now: “Thank you, Father, for promising that I could enjoy life in abundance, to the full, until it overflows. I claim this promise over my life right now, in Jesus’ name. Amen!”
Use What's In Your Hand
The key to your future often lies with what’s already in your hands.
When God spoke to Moses from a burning bush, He presented him with an opportunity. At first, it was overwhelming to Moses. God was asking Moses to approach the Pharaoh to demand that he let the Israelites go.
At first, Moses couldn’t fathom how this was going to work. He asked God what he should do if no one listened to him, a lowly shepherd who had spent the last 40 years of his life leading nothing but sheep on the back side of the desert. And what did God say in response? “So the Lord said to him, ‘What is that in your hand?’ He said, ‘A rod’” (Exodus 4:2, NKJV).
We know God didn’t need to ask. He knew that Moses was holding his shepherd’s rod, which he used to herd sheep. I believe God was drawing Moses’s attention away from his lack and onto the skills and experience he had.
Moses’s rod is a symbol that’s featured all throughout the story of the Israelite’s journey to freedom, and it makes a powerful point. You see, when we allow God to use what’s in our hands, He adds His supernatural power to our natural skills and abilities, and that’s when the miraculous happens.
Moses isn’t the only biblical example of this principle. When David challenged Goliath, God empowered him to use the sling that was in his hand to take down the Philistine army. King Saul tried to give David his armour and weapon, but David didn’t need to try to be someone else to win. He went out as himself, a shepherd boy, and God empowered him through the skills, experience and resources he had. If David had been a javelin-thrower, God would have used the javelin. If he used a bow and arrow, God would have used the bow and arrow.
God can use whatever is in your hands.
Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine. 1 Samuel 17:40 (NIV)
Think about Esther. She was so gorgeous that the King wanted her, and God empowered her to use that beauty to save the entire Jewish race. And what about Samson? When he had nothing but the jawbone of a donkey in his hand, he took out more than a thousand Philistine soldiers. Whatever was in his hand, God used.
What do you have access to? What areas do you already know? God uses what’s in your hand. He uses your skills and resources to enable you to deal with the issues of life and get to your next level.
If you want to see a change in your financial future, start with what’s in your hand. What skills do you have? What knowledge? What resources?
Something as insignificant as a shepherd’s rod led to the freedom of millions. I wonder what God will do with what’s in your hand?
If you are believing for prosperity and need a better paying job, it’s important to claim that promise, but don’t stop there. Get out there and apply for jobs as well, because faith without works is dead.
When you take action based on your faith, it continually releases faith. You don’t take action to earn anything from God, and you aren’t saying that you have to take things into your own hands because you don’t trust Him.
Take action because you believe that you have the power to walk out all that Jesus has provided by His grace!
Leave an Inheritance
God has so much in store for you!
The only way we’re going to reach the world for Christ is if we get more wealth in the hands of Christians who have a heart for the Kingdom.
I want you to be encouraged, because I believe God is going to raise up men and women to finance what He’s doing in these last days. God is calling us to increase and to allow Him to use what He’s placed in our hands.
Your skills, your resources, your relationships, your influence, your success—God has placed all of these in your hands and I believe it’s for a purpose.
A good person leaves an inheritance for their children’s children, but a sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous. Proverbs 13:22 (NIV)
The enemy would like to shut down the opportunities that the church of Jesus Christ has today, and the way he does it isn’t by obvious, direct attack. He tries to come in by the side door. One of the ways he does it is by trying to plant thoughts in our minds. He tries to lull us into an apathetic state with thoughts like, “We’ve done well. This is enough. It’s someone else’s turn now.”
But God isn’t done with us! He wants us to keep growing and preparing for growth so He can give us more opportunities! Look at what you’re doing and say, “God, what are you up to in my world? How are you going to bless me?” My challenge to you is to love what you’re doing and believe God for increase, and God will guide you in it.
Never allow yourself to become apathetic. God has more in store for you! God’s favour is upon you! Believe God for increase! Believe that you will have what you need to take your business, finances and relationships to the next new level. As Proverbs 13:22 says, wealth is stored up for the righteous, and God has a system of transferring it into our world.
