The "Greater Than" Life

In elementary school Mathematics, one of the topics that is taught is values.  It is taught with the use of two mathematical symbols:  ">" and "<".  ">" is the symbol which means, "greater than".  "<" is the symbol which means "less than". 

For example: 16 > 8 is stated: 16 is greater than 8.  7 < 12 is stated: 7 is less than 12.

Values are a part of our everyday existence.  They are what drive the different aspects of our day.  Each and every activity of our life carries with it a specific value.  It is what decides how man prioritizes his life.

It is sadly humorous that if you poll average people about what is important to them, they will almost always offer you a list of things which are supposedly significant to their lives.  They will offer a list that ranges from health and weight loss or control, to financial security, to strong family and spiritual relationships.  Yet for the average person's ability to offer these things as the most important - they generally prove to be the least important aspects of their life.

It has become very easy complain about one's weight or physical condition only to, moments later, order the greasiest, most fattening thing available to put into one's mouth.  It is very common to determine that one needs more time with his family, only to go home and spend three or four hours mindlessly watching television.  Many talk about the concern they have for their financial future, only to pull out the credit card or refinance papers on their home to purchase the next thing they "have to have" for their lives.

God's people need to rediscover the "greater than - less than” principle.  We are, by God's design, incredibly inventive creatures.  I can remember having a discussion - almost an argument with my teacher over "greater than - less than" in math.  In one assignment, I determined that 7 > 12. She marked the problem incorrect.  By her way of thinking (and the math book's), seven is not greater than 12. 7 is less than 12.  However, my argument was that 7 was my favorite number.  It was the number that God made as completion (Sunday School at work) and therefore was the GREATEST of all numbers.  I suppose it is all in how you define it.

That is precisely how we look at life.  We have one set of values (like the math) which operates on facts and data.  We have another set of values which are purely subjective based on our immediate desires and whims.  Is 7 really the greatest number?  Is it of greater value than 5, which is the number of grace?  Or, perhaps 3, which is the number of the Trinity?  Where would we be without good old number 8, the number of new beginning.  

Many quote true realistic values as if they were priorities.  However, they live by the things which are of real importance to their desires; things which promote immediate pleasure, even at the cost of sacrificing the true priorities.

You need to develop a true grasp of what is really greater.   

Immediate gratification always costs more - and always increases the desire for more immediate gratification.   

If you can learn what is truly greater - if you can master the Master's value system, then you will have accomplished a great thing. You will have positioned yourself to truly succeed.

A life whose values are based on the emotions and desires of the moment ultimately becomes an empty life.  King Solomon proved that.  A life which is measured by the things that truly matter is a life of great worth.  God created a value system.  He defined it in His word.  He created you with the inventive ability to capitalize on that value system.  If you do, you will prosper from the soul out.

Start communicating a desire for good health and a firm, fit body.  Then, quit stuffing that body full of things which render it nearly impossible to obtain that good health.  Make the statement over your life that being debt free is "greater than". Then, quit pulling out the credit card because you need that new gadget or item.  Stop spending money which could be used to eliminate debt to buy the next thing in the attempt to alleviate the pain of lack.  These always prove to be the most costly of medicines.

Learn the difference between what is "greater than" and what is "less than".  Let the litmus test for it be the fruit which is produced over time, not by the moment.  If you do, you will find yourself living a "Greater Than" Life.   

Embracing Change

This week, a commentator on a radio broadcast made an observation I had never before considered. He was speaking of the financial crisis that America is facing, specifically in reference to policies that certain leaders in federal government are trying to pass.   In defense of their position regarding changes to regulatory policies, one of the leaders offered that the regulatory changes had been offered for consideration to leaders in the industries involved.  As they were in favor of them, the nation should also be in favor of them.

The commentator offered this interesting objection to that logic.  Paraphrased, he stated:

“Consider the transportation industry of 100 years ago.  Consider that the government determined the need to regulate the development of air travel, and that in the process of establishing those regulations, the regulatory commission decided to look to the transportation leaders of the day. They would draw together the input of people who built locomotives, ships, buses and automobiles.  They would ask them to define the regulations surrounding air travel.  Each member of that community would stand to lose business in the advent of air transport. What incentive would they have for backing legislation that would not only aid a competitor, but backing an industry that would antiquate their own businesses?   In this scenario, current industry leaders would have the opportunity to regulate the air industry so tightly that it would 

never get off the ground.”

The commentator applied the same logic to health care.  

“If one company came up with an alternative medical breakthrough that could cure cancer, for the government to allow the companies who make their living selling cancer medicine to be the voice of regulation of the new procedure in cancer research is potentially very counter productive.   It takes hundreds of millions of dollars to develop medicines and often a decade to have the medicine approved for distribution.  Having a new cure discovered before the industry’s research investment can realize a profit in the form of drugs sold is not in the best interest of the pharmaceutical companies.”

The sentiment is clear. The status quo is usually set by a life built in a certain way. Change always affects the status quo, ergo, it affects those who live by it.  Those who profit or reap the benefits of comfort from the status quo are often the strongest opponents to change.

Change requires innovative thought. 

Change requires vision. 

Change can require letting go of everything in order

to gain what is necessary for the future.  

The unwillingness to embrace change eventually leads a to stagnant life. Years ago, Kodak did not want to divide their resources and run the risk of losing their consumer base in the industry.  Their most valued clients were those in the major motion picture industry and professional photographers. Everyone in their customer base in is to a large degree, artistic. Most artists believe themselves to be “purists”.  Kodak bet the farm on the belief that digital photography and video was a fad and that the “purists” of the industry would not only reject digital media, but would also reject any company that progressed in digital media.  The stock reports told the story.  Kodak lost the bet.  They were in the position of having to risk letting go of a major portion of their empire in order to build for the future and they were unwilling to let go. Unwillingness to embrace change cost them dearly.

We are moving in the midst of a new generation.  That fact is as constant as the spinning of the earth.  There is great power in time-honored traditions.  There is great power in holding onto proven fundamental beliefs and core values.  However, there is a danger when one holds onto his current status in life under the assumption that the static things are the fundamental things or the core elements of life.

Cartographers for generations built their map trade on the core belief that the earth was flat.  I am certain that those guys stood in opposition to the guys who began to sell globes.  We can view that with a certain logic and even a little humor. But what happens when God wants to take our “flat life” and “round it out?” People often declare that they want to go to new levels. They want to be on the cutting edge. They forget that the cutting edge may cause them to sail off the end of the earth. Christopher Columbus was so short-handed for a crew that he wound up with a ship full of criminals who opted for the unknown and possible oblivion I lieu of a known lifetime of imprisonment.  Ol’ Chris understood that to be the cutting edge meant sailing to the edge. He could fall off the planet in the middle of the night, taking not only his life, but also those in his charge.  He risked everything, not just comfortable things.  His motley crew could, and some eventually did mutiny, taking from his hand much of the resources he had left

for the journey.  Yet something inside of him said, 

“History hasn’t figured it out. There is more than what you are seeing and living.”  

Even being proven wrong was to risk and likely end all he had worked for.  

Everything was on the line.

To truly move forward with God means embracing change. God doesn’t change, but He changes us. The earth continually changes and to walk in it as He decreed, we have to recognize those changes and be in front of them. There is a generation that is dying. There is a people looking for the airplane in an automobile world.  God is looking for the innovators – for those who can recognize how to maintain the core values and beliefs while offering them in ways that are fresh and attainable to the new generation. He is looking for the warriors who will lay it on the line to lead a generation toward Him. 

The season ahead will require several changes.  Some of them will be seem minor. Others will seem major. All of them will require those who embrace them to consider what they will hold onto and what they will release as a seed toward a better future.

Such change will require innovation.  It will require a people courageous enough to reconsider how they present the gospel. It will require those who will re-evaluate what is really value and even how they will live life. It will require people for whom the true fundamentals will remain; for whom core beliefs are established and not changed or threatened by method.  It will require a people who are unwilling to live by the status-quo of their current life –for whom the “flat-life” is not acceptable.  God is looking for a people who can wrap their minds around His “globe” His world. He is looking for a people who will embrace change.

The Gift of Observation

One of the greatest gifts God has placed in man is the ability to observe. As a pastor, a a husband and father, and even as a member of the community, I have worked hard to be a determined observer. I am a pilot and one of the most important things a pilot must to is continually observe all that is around him. Failure to see even one detail can be disastrous.

 As I write this blog, I am on the balcony of an apartment in San Pedro De Marcoris, Dominican Republic. I am right in the heart of town next to a busy intersection. I am engaged in ministry every night and most days. However, my "down time" if there is such a thing, has been incredibly productive. Without transportation and with little command of the language, when I am not out ministering, I am like a bird n a cage, perched in a unique observation point. It has given me the opportunity to finish a book I am writing. It has also given me the opportunity to exercise the gift of observation. In a week, I have learned what vehicles belong here and and those that do not. I have learned the faces of the locals and even a dew of their habits. I know the routine of the local police in these few blocks. I know who works, who doesn't work and who pretends to work. I can see prosperity, mediocrity, and poverty all from the same balcony. I find myself amazed that on one corner in a city, if you are careful you can observe the balance of life. 

In traveling through the city, my awareness of what I see from my perch has made me more acutely aware of what I discover in the rest of the city.  All of this caused me to think about how people observe, and more importantly what they do once they have made an observation. 

 As a pastor, I used to face great frustration on the midst of certain observations made and brought to me by others. In my first year of ministry, I felt compelled to act on such observations because they always seemed to point to a need. As a traveling minister, my actions came at great personal cost, both financially and physically. When I embraced the responsibility of pastoring, I found the compulsion to act even more draining. It seemed that everywhere I turned, would encounter another observer. that observer would identify the need and bring it to me to solve or resolve. Each time I acted, people would be happy about it. But, each time I took my hand off the action, that which I had done to correct the problem would quickly disintegrate. It was very frustrating, so much so that I began to pray for a specific answer. One came in the form of a writing from Erwin McManus, the pastor of the Mosaic in California.

 In his book "Chasing Daylight", he wrote:

 "I couldn't begin to count the number of times people would come up and say, 'Pastor, something needs to be done about...' With every identified problem there was a program, service or a ministry that needed to be started. It seemed as of the congregations job was to find the problems and recommend the solutions and my job was to et them done. Somewhere along the way, out of desperation, I began to ask the people who identified the need to become part of the solution. The response was almost uniform. 'Oh, no, not me. I just felt that it was important to point out the need.' This is where side-liners are particularly lethal. They have so much time to watch life go by that they have a great view of all of the problems, which inspires them, especially when they assume that their role in life is to point out what's wrong. They conclude that their contribution is at best to suggest solutions and then 

sit back and evaluate how we are doing." 

 Erwin went on to explain that "observers" like this can drain you of everything. They move you by need, control you by guilt, and are willing to leave you dead from exhaustion. He continued by identifying that he encountered the same problem I discovered that while people were quick to point out a need, they were unwilling to participate in that need. as a result, he could implement what was necessary to touch the need only to see it fail for lack of human willingness to see it through.

 Shortly after reading this book I had a young man who had spent some time with our congregation. He was frustrated because I was not allowing his gift to flourish. When asked what his gift was, he replied that his was to observe the condition and need of city and point it out to the pastor of the church so that something could be done. I offered to him that I had responded to his concerns. I had placed him in the position of reaching directly into the needs he encountered and was willing to back him with human and financial resource the moment he produced 

some effort and momentum. Then I asked him, 

"In the midst of all of that need, who have you reached?" 

He then informed me that his was only the gift of observation. He was to call others to action, not act himself. Oddly the thought that crossed my in in that moment was William Wallace calling his men into action...seated upon his horse with a sword in his hand. The point is this. Created in God's image, you have the powerful ability to observe all that happens around you. If God stirs your heart about a need, then He is likely speaking to you about that need. If your compulsion to identify that need is strong enough to press someone for a solution, then you need to consider that God is pressing you to be a part of that solution. The call to action is only really answered by those ready to lead the charge. Hence, if it is yours to call, be prepared to lead he battle. The gift of observation is a tool of action. It only works when you act.

Are You Happy?

I know a man who, when asked the question, “How are you today?” simply states, “I am happy.”  The first time I heard him say it, I thought it was one of the coolest things a person could say.  To be able to offer a sincere declaration that you are happy is to communicate a great deal about your life in a three word sentence.

Unless…you really miss the meaning of happiness in life.

Merriam -Webster’s Online Dictionary gives broad definition to the word “happy”.

Happy- adj, 1: favored by luck or fortune 2: notably fitting, effective, or well adapted : felicitous 3a : enjoying or characterized by well-being and contentment (is the happiest person I know, or, a happy childhood) b : expressing, reflecting, or suggestive of happiness (a happy ending) c : glad, pleased d : having or marked by an atmosphere of good fellowship : friendly  4a : characterized by a dazed irresponsible state (a punch-happy boxer) b : impulsively or obsessively quick to use or do something (trigger-happy) c : enthusiastic about something to the point of obsession : obsessed

The word happy is broad in scope – so broad that it’s true meaning is easily lost, or at best greatly reduced, because the term “happy” can define a very small situation and be accurate in its communication.  The problem is that when you use the term “happy” to define situations, you can convince yourself that happiness becomes situational.  The next logical step is to begin to live your life creating situation after situation in the hope that they will all add up to happiness.

Most people do not experience true happiness. Instead, they experience situational happiness.  Situational happiness is not “being happy”. You can experience happy moments with someone who has no real regard for you or even shows great disdain for you.  That moment does not create a happy life. Yet, I have seen many try to create and recreate those moments, reaching for true happiness.  In retrospect, they realize they have had great moments but cannot say, “I am happy.”

The word “happy” is used throughout scripture, translated from both Greek and Hebrew texts.  The Greek word for happy is μακαρίζω (mä-kä-rē'-zō ) which means “to pronounce blessed”.  The Hebrew word for happy is the word אֶשֶׁר eh'·sher, which means again, “to be blessed”. However, this word comers from the root word אָשַׁר ä·shar', which meaning is much more specific. Ashar means to “go straight, walk, advance, or to make progress.  It indicates that happiness from a biblical perspective is not situational, but about advancement or progress in life.  In scriptural context, this happiness is about progress in relationships with God and man. 

Happy times are great.  You should have them.  You should foster them.  But they are not what makes you happy.  Real happiness is found in the strengthening and progress of the relationships you share with God and with one another.

I spent a lot of my life trying to please people.  I wanted to make them happy and I wanted to be happy.  I thought that if I could just make them happy, my life would be a happy life.  The problem was that the only way to make them happy was to meet their expectations.  The greater problem was that once those expectations were met, they tended to lead to another set of expectations. There is not really a win because such expectations are usually not about our success, but about the desires of others.  You can spend a lot of time trying to feed that monster and end up frustrated or even broken.  I eventually found the place in my life where I became determined not to “chase happiness” in this manner.  It does not work.  Not only does it prevent you from moving forward, it usually sets you back.

Are you happy? Perhaps the way to answer that is to look at the forward momentum in your life.  It should not be measured simply by accomplishment, though accomplishment plays a role. It’s greater measure is found in relationship.  For it is through relationship that your purpose in God’s kingdom is fulfilled. Luke 17:21 explains that

 “…the Kingdom of God is within us.”   

If the kingdom resides in the hearts of people then you cannot fulfill kingdom purpose

without building right relationships.

Happiness on God’s terms is the blessing discovered in walking your walk, making progress and advancing your life’s purpose in the Kingdom. Look at your relationships.  Look at your thoughts and communication with others. Look at how these things affect your kingdom purpose.  Then, work to build those relationships with the Kingdom in mind.  It will take you a long way on the road to being happy.

Direct My Path, PLEASE!

Proverbs 3:5-6  “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths.”

People are always looking for directions.  “What do I do now?”  “Where am I to go?” “Should I take this job or that job?” “Should I marry him?” …And the biggest – “What is the will of God for my life?” "DIRECT MY PATH...PLEASE!"

Finding direction, like finding purpose presents great challenge.  Some will tell you that life is (or should be) easy.  Yet, after the fall of man, God made it clear that not everything in life WOULD be easy.  (Here is where some will be tempted to turn me off…don’t do it…hear me out for a minute.)

Life was designed to be easy, but when man sinned against God, things changed.  Looking at the life of Jesus, we discover that much of what He encountered was not easy.  Obviously Calvary and the cross, but I am talking about just how He had to deal with the disciples, Pharisees and even just people in general.  AND, without question, Jesus had a pretty strong understanding of the will of God.   This is why I am frustrated when people, in the name of simplicity, trivialize the gospel and say, “If you know God’s will…it is easy.” And, “If it is not easy, you must be out of God’s will.”  They forget that as Jesus prayed declaring, “Not My will, but Father, Your’s be done.” He was sweating drops of blood.  NOT EASY!

We live in a day of “easy”.  Christianity is often microwaveable, or worse, “fast food”.  Just hit the drive in and get what tastes good.  Many have forgotten what it is to taste and see that the Lord is good?  As a result, the direction they take in life usually points to what is easier, what will touch the palette of their mouths with a pleasant taste.  If it is without conflict, it gets attributed to the will of God.  

This is NOT how He directs your path.

Proverbs 3:5-6 teaches us to: 

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths.”

As a pastor, this is the biggest question I field from people. “Can you tell me what is God’s will for My life?”  They do not easily hear that God’s will for their life is that they grow in their relationship with Him to the point that they can recognize His desire for them on a consistent basis; that they recognize the leading of the Holy Spirit and are able to follow it.

Most people are willing to “trust” in the Lord.  They will even trust a minister to be the voice of God in telling them what they should do.  They are equally willing to “lean not on their own understanding”, though this usually happens after everything they understand has led them to a dead end, or worse, up the proverbial tree.  

Likewise, once people get to this point in the process, they are willing to 

let God "direct their path".  They long for it.  

Their prayer is “help me out of this mess!”

The part that is missing is the part that seems to be the hardest. “In ALL of your ways acknowledge Him…”  People are mostly willing to acknowledge God when it suits them, when they want a specific answer on a specific matter, or becomes painfully obvious that all else has failed.

The word “acknowledge” is the Hebrew word “yada” ( יָדַע St. H3045 ).  It means, to know, learn perceive, discern, to recognize, confess and consider, to be instructed, to reveal and be revealed…and the list goes on.

“Yada” – to acknowledge God – requires considering His heart, His passion and His desires.  It means to consider how God will feel about a matter and what position He will take as defined in His Word.  This is difficult for people, not because of the word “acknowledge” but because of the word “ALL”.  People do not like to acknowledge God in every one of their ways, but only certain ones, because deep down they know that if they take time to consider God’s heart on much of what they do, it would become necessary to change their actions.

They want God to “love them as they are” without realizing that the greatest benefit of the love of God is that it is His desire to bring you to “greater than you are.”  

Everybody loves “greater” but not the price that comes with it.

If you want God’s best in your life, you have to be willing to let Him lead.  You have to know that His leadership will not only point you in direction, but will also point you AWAY from a certain direction.  Mostly, you have to know that His leading is through consultation.  Holy Spirit is the helper…the advisor or the consult.   If you consult with him only in the matter you desire, you will likely not be in the position to act on His leading anyway because you will be out of position. You must consult the advisor for every decision.  In ALL of your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths.

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The Power of Words

 Language is important.  The Word of God tells us that life and death are in the power of the tongue.  The amazing life God has given you often manifests and is reproduced through the things you communicate.  Your belief system is affected by it.  Your relationships are determined by it.  Everything you experience in life is in some way touched by the power of language.  For this reason, it is important for you to pay attention to how and what you communicate—both to yourself and to others.  The language youuse mayhave been established when you were young.  However, language is not simply a "one-time deal", wherein you learn it and then you have it.  Language experiences constant change and is developed and redeveloped over time.  this is true in a culture or society and this is true in your individual life.  Language carries you.  It takes you into specific directions - for better or for worse.  There are several key things that understood and utilized correctly, can help you to develop the language in your life that will move you into a specific direction. 

Focus

What you focus on determines your direction in life.  What you focus on determines what you declare.  What you declare determines what you believe; and ultimately how you live.   

You must choose the focus of your life. 

 To do that God’s way, you must understand His passion and His will.  You need to spend time with the Holy Spirit. Worship, prayer and time spent in His Word creates the opportunity for you to hear communication from Him.  If you make the Holy Spirit your passion, you focus on Him.  In turn, He shows you where you are to focus in your natural life.  This changes the way you communicate in your life because you begin to see things from God’s perspective rather than man’s.  That’s wisdom.

Silence

Once your focus is established, it is much easier to know what you should say.  Often, wisdom teaches us what is better not to say.  My Grandma B used to remind me, 

"It is better to be quiet and thought the fool rather than to 

open your mouth and prove it."   There is much truth to these words.  

 The Bible states that the fool has said in His heart there is no God.  People often put themselves in the position of a fool by the simple declaration of their mouth.  When things are going well, they declare the power of God.  When things are at their worst, they cry out to God for a miracle.  In the middle (the luke-warm place) is where they run into problems.  They look at the deterioration of their current situation and they speak against it.  They focus on a problem and verbalize all that is wrong with it.  In so doing, they talk like a fool.  They speak about the situation as though there is no God who is capable of handling it.  By example: “So and so really angers me.  There is just no way to deal with her.  Every time she opens her mouth it hurts me.” Or, “Every time I turn around, something else on this piece of junk I am driving is breaking down and costing me money.”  You have just given power to those situations by the declaration of your mouth.  By focusing properly, you could have breathed life into the situations.  You could say, “God, help me understand the reason for her pain.  Teach me how to be a part of her solution.” And, “God, thank you for the car you gave to me.  Thank you for the provision to keep it running or for its replacement.”  Every situation has a kingdom response and every response starts in the heart and projects through the mouth.  If you are unable to control what you declare, the best place to develop that control is learning how to be silent.

Power in Words

There is power in words.  God manifests Himself through His Word.  John 1 states: 

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God – the Word was God.” 

 Also, 

“…and the Word became flesh (Jesus) and dwelt among us."   

In Genesis God said, “Let there be…” and there was.  He spoke all of creation into being with words – the power of life and death.  It is the same power He placed within you.  You have the power to breathe life into every situation you encounter - if you speak as God instructs you to speak.  You also have the ability to speak death into any situation.  The Word of God is a two-edged sword.  You can use it to defeat the power of the enemy, Satan, just as Jesus did in the wilderness.  You can use it to bring life into the heart of a distraught person.  Jesus told Mary, “Your faith has saved you.  Your sins are forgiven.”  He declared, “This woman who has given but two mites has given greatly, for it is all she had.”  Not only did he breathe life into the minds of those around, He breathed life into her own perspective.

Words carry such power that anyone who has the ability to speak should be mindful of that power.  If you can breathe life and death in a good way, you can also do it in a bad way.  You can give life to anger and bitterness by what you say.  You can kill a dream with the words you speak – or even receive from others.

Words in Your Amazing Life

God gave to you an amazing life, and with it, the power to reproduce life.  Your ability to communicate with others is also your ability to speak into the earthly realm what has been established in the heavenly realm.  Return for a moment to the topic of focus.  Communication with the Holy Spirit allows you to develop a proper focus on life.  It does this by offering you a kingdom perspective.  Once you are able to see and understand what God has established for His kingdom, you begin to realize that the reason He gave you the power of words is to put your knowledge of the kingdom into play on the earth.  Embedded in your amazing life is the power and authority to release the fullness of the kingdom into the world around you.  Knowing this creates the responsibility for acting on it.  Acting on it creates the product of fruit in your life.  Bearing fruit produces the fulfillment of your amazing life!

What's In YOUR Hand?

 A national credit card issuer has a television commercial with a memorable catch phrase.  "What's in your wallet?" has a sing-songy appeal that manages to stay with you long after its thirty seconds of airspace has evaporated.  That is the great thing about catch phrases or jingles. For years, America has learned "There's always room for JELLO", "Don't leave home without it", and "It's everywhere you want to be".  Burger King said in the seventies, "Have it your way!" and America can remember it thirty years later.

Catch phrases, slogans and jingles are a vital part of commercial life because they serve to burn permanent communication onto our memories.  They in essence, write their words upon our hearts.  Isn't it amazing that once again, the natural world looks to spiritual principles to accomplish life altering purposes in the heart of man.

Actually, my reason for bringing this up reaches farther than the obvious - that we should be as quick to let the word of God become the life-changing catch phrases of our hearts.  There is also an element of God that comes forth as Rhema word to mankind.  Occasionally, the Holy Spirit will teach you a biblical principle, and then give you a creative thought to help you activate that principle in your life.  He will give you a catch phrase to keep you in remembrance of that principle. 

For example, there was a certain season when I have found myself praying for God to bring financial increase, to our church but also to my household.  Both arenas have a specific kingdom vision and purpose.  The major slowdown to that purpose is a simple matter of finances.  I am at that place where money answers all things.  I actually began to complain to God about the fact that He placed this huge vision in my heart.  He has given me all sorts of direction on what I am to accomplish and also what this church is to accomplish.  He just hasn't seen fit to finance the project at his point.  I even allowed myself a moment of comforting solace in the catch phrase,  

"Where God guides, God provides".  

  

After all, when God told Noah to build the Ark, He provided for the animals to gather together at the launching point.  That makes it easy.  I can rest in the comfort of knowing that when God is ready for me to do something, He'll make the way! AAAHHHH!!!

The question is, "Did God make the way, already?"  Throughout two decades of full time ministry, my wife and I have experience the hand of God at work in our financial provision.  He has brought forth many miracles in our life.  We have learned to trust Him with to provide for that which He asked us to do.  This fact frustrated me when all of the sudden I began to notice a decline in our usual financial position.  Such a decline has often proven to be the result of a missed or an ignored instruction from God.  I always look at such declines as a test at first.  They often prove to be just that.  However, when they continue, I begin to backtrack and determine whether or not I “missed the mark”.  I began to pray and ask God, "Where is the provision?"  His answer surprised me.  The Holy Spirit asked me a simple question.  "What's in your hand?"  In my head-strong state, I came back with a quick reply.  "Nothing!  You're God! Couldn't you have noticed that fact?  It is actually the reason I am having this conversation with you!" 

I am so glad that God is love.  He gently chastened me and informed me that although it is the reason I think I was having that conversation, He had created a much stronger reason.  He was looking at what was in my hand when I would not see what was in my hand.  He took me back to the place where the financial changes took place.  Looking back at that moment, He had led me into a specific opportunity - a business opportunity that I acted upon.  Shortly after I acted upon it, I encountered a distraction in another area of business.  In my frustration, I laid this opportunity down.  In the simple phrase, "What's in your hand?", God let me know that He had already answered a prayer for me but I ignored the answer and did not lay my hand upon the provision of that answer.  It opened the door for bitterness to enter my life.

How could that happen?  One of the most frustrating things that can happen to a kingdom citizen is to see and have purpose but have no way to approach that purpose and fulfill it.  God continued to open every door that He wanted me to walk through, but the provision to walk through those doors was hidden.  It was most frustrating to me.  I even felt like I was somehow failing God because I was not fully activating the ministry He had written in my heart.  Imagine how sheepish I felt when I realized that the hidden provision was actually hiding in my own desk drawer!

 God is also an encourager.  He sent someone to shine a light on that hidden place.  In my absence, He even allowed that opportunity a little growing room - just enough fruit to open my eyes to the provision He had provided for that simply needed tending and cultivating.  

 In this day and age of Christian life, there are many who are waiting for God to bring the supernatural provision He has promised.  They have sown seeds believing for harvest.  They look to God to "bring the Boaz" into their life and provide for them.  They forget that Boaz was attracted to Ruth because she was willing to take every step that was necessary to release that provision into her life.  He first observed her gleaning in the field.  He watched her fulfill every instruction given to her by her (get this) mother-in-law.

God's provision was released when Noah went looking for gopher wood.  It was released when Ruth went to work in the field.  Even when God provides a garden, He expects man to work it.  Man has come to believe that God just pours it out.  He does…on those who He knows will work with what He gives to them.

To end the story, I pulled this opportunity out and dusted it off.  I repented to God and to my family and even to the one who initially presented me with this opportunity.  I asked God to bless it.  Within a week, the opportunity produced a harvest.  Amazingly, in addition to that harvest, I found other favor.  Two families whose lives we have touched, one of which is a half a continent away, contacted us and released financial seed and blessing into our lives.  The blessing was again released and Cindy and I can move forward with the plan of God!

When the provision stops, you can often track it to your last place of disobedience.  Correcting that releases the blessing back into your life. Financially, you can look at what you were supposed to do.  Work a particular job - let go of a former dream that does not fit the vision - sow a seed that you did not sow - For God to put something in your \hand often requires you to release what is in your hand, whether its money or labor…or pride.  If you are at the point of continually asking God for provision and you are not yet seeing it, ask yourself the question, "What's in your hand?"