Miracles are great but they are not the best that the Lord has for us. Receiving a miracle of healing is great when you need bypass surgery except that without a lifestyle change you will soon need another miracle. Similarly, a financial miracle is great when you are desperate for provision but without a lifestyle change you will soon need another miracle.
Many people are constantly in survival mode, desperate for a financial miracle from God to provide enough money to pay their next bill. And, for many years I was one of those people. But the Lord doesn’t just want to meet our needs He wants to bless us so that we, on His behalf, are able to meet other people’s needs. The Lord is not just in the money-giving or miracle-giving business. He is in the power-giving business.
He wants us to have “the power to get wealth” (Deuteronomy 8:18) so that we can become a miracle worker for someone else. He wants us to not only be able to give financial miracles for other people but to teach them “the power to get wealth” which we have learned from our Good Father. In this way, we become His agents of change. We become reproducers of reproducers.
Blessed to Be a Blessing
God is in the business of reproducing reproducers. And He wants to bless us so that we can be a blessing to those around us. This was the covenant he made with Abraham, “The Lord had said to Abram, ‘Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others.” (Gen. 12:1,2 KJV).
If we are still in need of miracles, if we are begging for a financial miracle how can we be a blessing to other people? It is when we have learned how to make money and how to create wealth that we are able to provide for our personal needs and those around us. Then, with the abundance that we have, we can influence the lives of even more people by sharing our resources and by teaching others how to make money and create wealth also.
It’s About Relationship
My father and I shared amazing experiences in the wilderness through the years and I was essentially an apprentice hunter. My Dad was a man’s man who was fearless in all but the most intimate conversations. It was an amazing paradox but being in the wild and rugged mountains always brought his tender heart to the surface. In the quiet solitude he revealed the secrets of his heart, his triumphs and disasters, and all the lessons in between. And there, he listened to the struggles in my heart; the joys, frustrations, and pains of growing up as a young woman.
He taught me how to survive all manner of situations and even how to thrive in the mountains. But more importantly it was there that he taught me how to survive and thrive in life as a young woman. He imparted to me identity, courage, and vision. He taught me was who I am.
Interestingly enough, identity is only found within relationships. Identity is imparted. In the instant microwave culture of the 21st century it is almost inconceivable that there are things that only extended periods of time can produce. But every once in awhile we encounter things that have taken years to nurture, cultivate and mature. Things like fine wine, beautiful gardens, well-trained animals, and beautiful pieces of art. These things remind us that time is greatly valuable.
Learning who we are in God and learning who he created us to be is only found in relationship with Him. And, that relationship takes time. Transformation takes time. It’s not instant despite how much we wish it was.
I am the living legacy of my natural Father. And everyday that I choose to be an extraordinary leader with integrity and character, I honor my Dad. But, I am also the living legacy of my Heavenly Father. How much more may I honor Him.
Ultimately, it is about relationship: receiving financial miracles; getting the power to get wealth; becoming a miracle worker for other people; becoming a blessing; and reproducing reproducers. In the process he wants to teach us who we really are as sons and daughters of the Most High God, as royal heirs. He wants to impart identity, courage, and vision. He wants us to move beyond surviving to a place of thriving.
Photo credit: Zach Dischner via photopin cc
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