It may not look possible right now, but…

Reading Time 8 mins 48 secs – Most people think about financial provision in terms of their own needs. They want to pay their bills, provide for their families, get out of debt, and enjoy a better life. There is nothing wrong with those desires. God cares about your needs, but His plan for your financial life is bigger than simply having enough for yourself. God has a harvest on His mind, and that harvest is people. He wants people to know Him, experience His goodness, and discover the benefits of His Kingdom. He is looking for people who will partner with Him to accomplish that assignment, and He is willing to provide the resources necessary to get the job done. Second Corinthians 9 tells us that God supplies seed to the sower and increases the resources of those who are willing to be generous. But that brings us to an important question: Can God trust you with His money? God Is Looking for Workers for His Harvest In Matthew 20, Jesus tells a parable about a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day, but he didn’t stop there. He continued hiring workers at nine in the morning, noon, three in the afternoon, and even five o’clock, when only one hour remained in the workday. When evening came, the landowner paid every worker the same amount, including those who had worked only one hour. The workers who had been there all day complained because they thought they deserved more. But the landowner reminded them that he had paid exactly what he promised and had the right to be generous with his own money. What was the landowner’s priority? He wanted to bring in his harvest. He was willing to spend money throughout the entire day to make sure the work was accomplished. His generosity reflected the value he placed on the harvest and his desire to have people involved in bringing it in. We see that same urgency in John 4. After speaking with the Samaritan woman at the well, Jesus told His disciples to open their eyes and look at the fields because they were already ripe for harvest. He then made an incredible statement: “ Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life ” (John 4:36a, NIV). Notice those words, even now . God is looking for people who will help bring others into His Kingdom, and He is willing to fund the assignments He gives them. God Supplies Seed to Those Who Are Willing to Sow Second Corinthians 9:6 (NIV) says, “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.” This is a law of the Kingdom, and understanding it changes the way you approach your finances. God is not simply asking you to give something away and hope for the best. He is teaching you how His Kingdom operates and how the measure you sow affects the harvest you receive. The passage continues by explaining that God is able to make His grace abound toward you so that you have everything you need and can abound in every good work. Verse 10 tells us that God supplies seed to the sower and bread for food. He provides both what you need to live and what you need to sow. His provision is designed to meet your needs and enable your generosity. I remember meeting a pastor and his wife who were facing a desperate financial situation. Their home was scheduled for a sheriff’s sale in just seven days, and they needed $3,500 to save it. After attending a banquet where I was teaching about the Kingdom’s principles of financial provision, they approached me with their last $100 and said they wanted to sow it into the ministry. We prayed together and agreed with God’s Word for the money they needed. That night, they remembered an old screen-printing business they had operated years earlier. The equipment had been sitting unused in their garage, but they felt prompted to reach out to people and offer to make T-shirts. Within that same week, two orders came in, and they earned $6,500 before the deadline. They saved their home and had money left over. Their answer came through an opportunity they already had but had not considered. God directed them toward something they could put their hands to, and they acted on it. One experience with the Kingdom can change the way you see everything. Your circumstances do not have to determine what is possible when you learn to trust God’s Word. Faithfulness Determines What You Can Be Trusted to Handle In Luke 16, Jesus tells the parable of a manager who was accused of wasting his master’s possessions. When the master demanded an account of his management, the man realized he was losing his position. He immediately began making arrangements to secure his own future, reducing the debts of people who owed his master money so they would welcome him after he lost his job. The manager demonstrated that he could think strategically and find ways to benefit himself, but he had not shown that same diligence in handling his master’s resources. His priorities were wrong. He had been entrusted with something that belonged to someone else, and he failed to manage it according to its intended purpose. Jesus then makes a statement in Luke 16:10a (NIV): “ Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much. ” Faithfulness begins with what is already in your hands. If you want God to entrust you with greater resources and responsibilities, you must demonstrate integrity in the things you are handling right now. That includes how you manage money, conduct business, fulfill commitments, and treat what belongs to someone else. You may think a small assignment doesn’t matter because nobody notices what you're doing. But God notices. He sees whether you are honest when no one is watching and whether you can be trusted to follow His direction. This doesn’t mean you should give out of guilt or obligation. Second Corinthians 9:7b tells us to give what we have decided in our hearts, not reluctantly or under compulsion. God is looking at your heart and whether your actions agree with what you say you believe. See People the Way God Sees Them The parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10 gives us another picture of God’s heart for people. A man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho was attacked, beaten, and left half dead. A priest saw him and passed by. A Levite did the same. But a Samaritan stopped, treated the man’s wounds, and brought him to an inn where he could recover. The Samaritan gave the innkeeper money to care for the injured man and promised to reimburse him for any additional expenses when he returned. Think about what that meant. The innkeeper had the assurance that the cost of caring for this man would be covered. The Samaritan’s generosity demonstrated the value he placed on the man’s recovery. The Church has been given a similar assignment. People come through our doors carrying the effects of brokenness, wrong thinking, and circumstances they don’t know how to overcome. We have the opportunity to introduce them to Jesus, teach them the Word, and help them discover what belongs to them in God’s Kingdom. Whether you are serving in your local church, helping someone in need, or supporting the Gospel, you are participating in something that matters deeply to God. He wants you to serve from the heart, knowing that He is your source and that there is reward in His Kingdom. Don’t Give Up Before Your Harvest Arrives One mistake people make is expecting an immediate result every time they sow a seed. They give, pray, and believe God, but when nothing happens the next day, they begin to question whether His Word is working. Yet even in the natural world, a seed takes time to grow. You don’t plant something in the morning and expect a mature harvest that afternoon. Galatians 6:7b (NIV) tells us, “ A man reaps what he sows. ” God’s Word is trustworthy, but the harvest may require time, preparation, and circumstances you cannot see. God may need to connect you with certain people, position you for an opportunity, or lead you through steps that prepare you for what you are believing Him to accomplish. I remember seeking God about a vision I had for my company. I had been sowing seed and believing for growth, but I needed a plan to reach the next level. The Lord showed me that the company, as it was operating at the time, did not have the capacity to accomplish what I was envisioning. We would need to grow and make changes before we could see the next steps clearly. I couldn’t get to the final destination from where I was standing. I had to be willing to follow God one stage at a time. The same principle applies to your life. If God has placed something in your heart, don’t abandon it simply because you cannot see the entire path. You may need to make adjustments or take a step that doesn’t seem directly connected to your ultimate goal. That doesn’t mean you’ve missed God. It may be part of the process of getting you where He wants you to be. God is generous, and He wants His generosity to be demonstrated through His people. He wants you to enjoy His goodness, have your needs met, and become a blessing to others. So consider what God has already entrusted to you. Are you managing it faithfully? Are you listening for His direction? Are you willing to use your resources, abilities, and opportunities to help accomplish what matters to Him? You don’t have to wait until you reach a certain level of success to begin. Faithfulness starts with what is in your hands today. A Simple Prayer Father, thank You for Your goodness, generosity, and faithful provision. Thank You that You care about my needs and have invited me to participate in the work of Your Kingdom. Help me see my finances, resources, and opportunities from Your perspective. Teach me to be faithful with everything You have entrusted to my care, whether it seems large or small. Give me wisdom to recognize the difference between seed and provision for my own needs, and help me follow the leading of Your Holy Spirit. I choose to trust Your Word, give with a cheerful heart, and remain faithful as I wait for the harvest. In Jesus’s name, I pray. Amen.

Reading Time 6 mins 35 secs – Have you ever wondered why something God promised doesn’t seem to be happening in your life? Maybe you’ve prayed, stood on Scripture, confessed the Word, and believed, but the situation still hasn’t changed. When that happens, don’t assume God has failed you. His Word always works. Instead, become a student of the Kingdom and ask the Holy Spirit to show you what may be getting in the way. Hebrews 12 warns us about one of those things: a bitter root. It says, “ See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. ” Bitterness doesn’t stay small. It grows. It affects your heart, your words, your relationships, and even the people around you. That is why God takes it so seriously. If you want to walk in freedom and experience everything God has made available to you, you cannot allow bitterness, unforgiveness, gossip, or offense to take root in your heart. Bitterness Grows When It Is Fed Most bitter roots begin with a real offense. Someone hurts you, disappoints you, betrays you, mistreats you, or says something that cuts deeply. The pain may be legitimate, but what happens next matters. The natural response is often to replay the situation, judge the person, or tell someone else what happened. Before long, you’re not only carrying the offense yourself, but you’re inviting other people to carry it with you. That is what happened with Miriam and Aaron in Numbers 12. They began speaking against Moses, criticizing him and questioning his leadership. But Scripture includes one important sentence: “ And the Lord heard it. ” Miriam and Aaron were not responsible for judging Moses. God had chosen him. They did not know everything God knew, yet they spoke as though they had the authority to evaluate and condemn him. We do the same thing far too easily. We hear a story, see something online, get frustrated with a leader, coworker, friend, family member, or even a stranger, and suddenly we have an opinion about their heart, motives, and character. But you don’t know everything. You don’t know their entire story, and most importantly, they do not answer to you. Gossip, slander, and judgment feed bitter roots. They create trouble, spread offense, and poison hearts. God has called us to something different. Unforgiveness Keeps You Bound Jesus told a story in Matthew 18 about a servant who owed his king an enormous debt, far beyond anything he could ever repay. The king had mercy on him and completely canceled the debt. Then that same servant found someone who owed him a much smaller amount. Instead of extending the mercy he had just received, he demanded payment and had the man thrown into prison. When the king heard about it, he called the servant wicked because the man had been forgiven of an impossible debt but refused to extend forgiveness to someone else. That story gives us a picture of what Jesus has done for us. Colossians tells us that through Christ, we have been forgiven. Jesus paid a debt we could never repay. He brought us into God’s Kingdom, gave us a new identity, and made His inheritance available to us. When you understand how much you have been forgiven, it changes the way you look at the people who have hurt you. Forgiveness does not mean what happened was acceptable. It does not mean there are no consequences, boundaries, or restitution. Forgiveness is about what you choose to carry in your own heart. You can hold someone responsible for appropriate consequences without allowing bitterness to hold you captive. When you refuse to forgive, the person who hurt you may continue living their life while you remain imprisoned by what happened. God wants you free. Forgiveness Is a Decision, Not a Feeling One of the biggest mistakes people make is waiting until they feel ready to forgive. Forgiveness is not primarily a feeling. It is an act of faith. Jesus modeled this for us. First Peter 2 says that when people insulted Him, He did not retaliate. When He suffered, He made no threats. Instead, He “entrusted himself to him who judges justly.” Jesus trusted the Father to be the judge, and you can do the same. You may not feel differently the moment you forgive someone. That is okay. Feelings follow. They do not lead. By faith, you can say, “God, I choose to forgive them. I release this into Your hands. You know what happened, You know the pain, and I trust You to judge justly.” That decision begins pulling the bitter root out of your heart. Guard Your Heart and Your Words Proverbs 4 tells us, “ Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. ” Your words reveal what has been growing in your heart. Jesus taught in Mark 11 that faith-filled words have authority. We love to quote the verses about speaking to the mountain, believing we receive, and seeing the answer come to pass. But sometimes we forget what Jesus says immediately afterward: when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them. That connection is important. You cannot spend a few minutes speaking the Word over your life and then spend the rest of the day criticizing people, complaining about your circumstances, speaking defeat, and feeding offense. Your words matter all day long. The same mouth you use to speak faith can also release fear, bitterness, judgment, and unbelief. You are constantly agreeing with something, so ask yourself: Are your words agreeing with heaven or with the enemy? Don’t Let Strife Take Root in Your Home This principle is especially important in marriage. Ephesians tells us not to let the sun go down while we are still angry because unresolved strife gives the enemy an opportunity. Marriage is a covenant of unity, and when bitterness and unforgiveness enter that relationship, they begin attacking the very agreement God designed to bring strength. If you have offended your spouse, apologize. If your spouse has hurt you, forgive. That does not mean ignoring problems. It means dealing with them without allowing resentment to take root. The enemy would love to use offense to divide your marriage, your family, your friendships, your church, or any other relationship God wants to use for His purposes. Don’t give him that opportunity. You will not go through life without someone hurting you. Offense will come. The question is what you will do with it when it arrives. You do not have to carry it, replay it, tell everyone about it, or let it become part of your identity. You can forgive by faith. You can trust God to judge justly. You can guard your heart, speak life, and pull the bitter root out before it has the opportunity to grow and affect anything else.  Jesus has already paid the price for your freedom, and He wants you to experience everything He made available to you. So if the Holy Spirit is bringing someone or some situation to your mind right now, don’t ignore it. Give it to God. Forgive. Apologize if necessary. Make things right where you can. Your freedom is worth it. A Simple Prayer Father, thank You for the mercy and forgiveness You have shown me through Jesus. I choose today to forgive those who have hurt, disappointed, or offended me. I release them into Your hands and trust You to judge every situation justly. Forgive me for the times I have allowed bitterness, gossip, criticism, or unforgiveness to grow in my heart. Help me guard my heart and use my words to bring life, encouragement, and faith to the people around me. Show me if there is anyone I need to apologize to or anything I need to bring into the light. I receive Your freedom today and choose to walk in love, forgiveness, and obedience. In Jesus’s name, I pray. Amen.