The Lord Jesus tells us, ‘If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven?’ (Luke 16: 10-11). Here we see the Lord likening money to ‘little things’, showing that there are greater riches in Him that extend beyond the limitations of money. If we cannot trust what God says enough to be faithful to His financial principles, it will be hard to be faithful in meatier matters of the kingdom.
There are things money cannot buy; things like divine relationships, divine moments, health, a successful marriage, and life itself. Often, when children of God struggle with money, they will also struggle in other areas of their lives, because money models one’s propensity towards faithfulness accurately. You cannot access the true riches of heaven without first mastering the basics – so let us continue aligning our ideologies regarding money to those of the Father.
The first important thing to understand is the infinite nature of God, and extend this appreciation to our outlook on finances. Children of God think their one job is the only way God can supply money to them, not seeing that God can send money through multiple streams and that we should not limit our expectation to just our day jobs.
Praying for a promotion at work is not the only to expand your revenue, you can create another path, and another – think bigger, greater, dominance! ‘The world of the generous gets larger and larger; the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller’ (Proverbs 11: 24) – this is the mentality we should have, of a broadened world, no sphere being beyond our reach. Poverty is not just the lack of money; it is instead an impoverished mentality that lacks the understanding of all the potential you house – the absence of money simply becomes the result of this poor mindset. Speaking of Isaac, the Bible says, ‘He became a very rich man, and his wealth continued to grow’ (Genesis 26:12) – he had crops, flocks, servants, and wells of water that made money for him.
When the Philistines harassed him over ownership of the water, Isaac continued on to another place to dig further, and when they came again, he moved forward again – this is the abundance mentality; he knew they would not deplete the provision of God. Eventually, the attacks of the enemy ceased because he withstood the darts. Isaac was also a man of the Word, the Bible says he ‘… went out to meditate in the field toward evening…’ (Genesis 24:63) – you cannot rise above the level of the Word you have in you; those are the confines your life will follow.
All oceans are fed by multiple streams of water, the Bible even tells us, ‘divide your investments among many places, for you do not know what risks might lie ahead’ (Ecclesiastes 11:2). So then how do we do this, where do we start? Look at the story of Moses, God told Him to go to Egypt and he had his doubts. But God asked Moses, ‘what is that in your hand?’ (Exodus 4:2), Moses replied that he had a rod.
A rod represents something you know you can do with ease and with passion, something you have familiarity with – this is something that God has granted you, and that you can use to generate income for yourself. God told Moses, ‘cast it to the ground…’ (v.3), signifying the laying down of our talents into God’s hand and trusting Him to multiply what we see. The supernatural outcome lies in obedience. After this encounter, we read that, ‘So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey, and headed back to the land of Egypt. In his hand he carried the rod of God’ (v. 20) – this is what happens when we submit our talents to God, they become His, destined for success!
Secondly, children of God need to learn to save.
The principle is: pay God, pay yourself, then pay the rest. In Leviticus 25, we see the Lord instructing the Israelites to only work for six years, and resting the land on the seventh – not producing any crops. But how could have they been able to live like this, when today, children of God cannot even miss a month of work without serious ramifications on their livelihood. It is because they had storehouses, they saved well! This practice will also enable us to take advantage of opportunities because we are well prepared to jump and seize the deal. ‘He who gathers in summer is a wise son, He who sleeps in harvest is a son who causes shame’ (Proverbs 10:5).
Lastly, for the sake of financial expansion, it is important for us to be excellent and diligent. No one will pay you for being a Christian, they pay you for the value you are contributing. ‘He who has a slack hand becomes poor, but the hand of the diligent makes rich’ (Proverbs 10:4) – you have to work! ‘Then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other high officials and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him. And the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom’ (Daniel 6:3); Daniel had worked to prove himself valuable over his peers; there was no charge against him and there was no shortcut. The anointing of God will amplify your efforts, but you have to get moving.
Prayer
Father, we thank you for the infinite possibilities for expansion that exist In Christ for our taking.
All things are ours, and we commit our steps in the direction of diligence and value, placing the counsel of your Word above all else. We thank you for your Word, that is able to build us up and give us our inheritance. Amen!
