Speak the Blessing, Part Four

Dear Parent,

I was in church one Sunday morning, and a lady came up to the altar to share her testimony. Then she said, “I want to thank God, and I want to thank the gods…” 😱

So, my question is: Who was responsible for her “breakthrough”? God or “the gods”?

Needless to say, every body was shocked and even the lady understood the implication of what she had just admitted.

She had a “Plan B”.

God wants to be your only Source

God wants to take all the glory in your life as a Christian. He said, “You shall have no other gods before Me.” (Exodus 20:3).

But many of us (myself included) tend to get impatient while waiting for God to act.

We get increasingly impatient especially when the creditors come knocking on our door.

When the bills need to be paid.

When our children need to be fed and clothed.

But worry and anxiety can be a serious problem and cause us to do things that are against God’s plan for our lives.

And Jesus said we should not worry (Matthew 6:25–34).

We can’t even think clearly when we’re worried.

The Ponzi Scheme Saga

I still remember many years ago when there was a Ponzi scheme making the rounds in my country of residence.

This Ponzi scheme seemed so believable that a lot of Christians were hoodwinked into participating.

It took the grace of God to preserve me from joining as well, because the pressure was strong from those dear to me.

What made me stand firm was when I sought God for advice on whether to take part in it. His reply was, “If you get involved, you will regret it.”

With that reply in my hand, I took courage and stood my ground against all forms of coercion.

Three weeks later the scheme was shut down, and a lot of people lost millions – Many of these people took loans to fund the scheme.

Seek Him when you are making financial plans

Dear Parent, God wants to be involved in your life. He wants to take all the glory in your financial success.

But He will not intrude into your plans if you don’t invite Him. He wants us to ask Him, and He will show us what to do (Jeremiah 33:3).

My question is: will you let Him?

Will you let Him take all the glory?

Or do you have a “Plan B” if He doesn’t show up as quickly as you expect Him to?

Will you be like the busy businessman who said, “God, I only have five minutes to seek You for answers. If You don’t give me an answer by then, I’ll call Mr. A for support”?

Will you be the person that someone will speak about saying, “If it was not for me, Mrs. B would not have become rich”?

Make God your only option

You see Abraham understood the importance of giving God all the glory in his financial success.

He told the king of Sodom, “…I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich’…” (Genesis 14:22–23).

How many of us can do that?

It’s actually easier to ask people to support us financially — either as a gift, or a loan — than to wait on God to provide for us.

It also requires a lot of faith to wait on God (Whom you do not see) rather than on man, (whom you can see).

But I thank God for His grace.

We grow in faith

We build up our faith.

You don’t start out right away having faith to receive $1,000 from God.

How can you believe God for a $1,000 idea or financial blessing when you’ve not had faith in Him for a $5 idea or financial blessing?

"You can't believe God for a $1,000 idea or financial blessing when you’ve not had faith in Him for a $5 idea or financial blessing." Share on X

Did you not read in the parable of talents that the master gave to each servant according to his own ability? (Matthew 25:14–15).

We are in the age of instant information, instant noodles, microwaved food, and instant communication.

We now want things to be instant, including receiving answers and physical blessings from God.

This may be surprising to you, but many times I’ve observed that God doesn’t show up immediately you call on Him, but shows up when you have almost lost hope.

You get to build up your faith muscles this way.

His Word reassures us

One thing that He does however, is to reassure You that His help is coming.

He reassures you with His Word.

So if you don’t have His Word stored up in your heart, how will you be at peace when your bank account or wallet is empty?

I would encourage you to begin to store up the Word in your heart today.

You don’t start preparing on the day of battle.

So, tell me. Have you been tempted to settle for a “Plan B” during times of financial crisis? Please share your comments below.

My gift for you

If you haven’t already downloaded it, here’s my FREE gift for you: A PDF document containing thanksgiving prayers you’ll say over yourself daily.

Keep speaking these blessings over yourself until they become a reality in your life.

To Get Your FREE Download, please click the button below, and subscribe to receive special emails from me (Note: you will need to confirm your subscription from your email address):

Copyright © 2022, Onyeka Ebere.

(This post is part four out of an eight-part series. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it).