Millionaires

Who wants to be a millionaire?— is a popular TV game show. It's where contestants have to answer ten questions correctly to win $1,000,000. The questions start off easy and then they get more difficult the higher the amount of money that's at stake. You can stop at any point and keep what you have already  won, but any wrong answer and you'll lose it all, except for a consolation prize of a thousand dollars. Most people's greed gets the best of them. Such are the ways of many game shows and this world.

Many people want to be rich and a million dollars seems like a good starting place. But it doesn't go as far as it used to. Neither does it buy you happiness. In fact most winners of large sums of money have often had miserable experiences after winning the money. Recently, an elderly couple who had just won six million in a lottery, decided to give most of it away to charities, because they were already happy and content with their simple life.

The game of life is not much different. Life starts off with simple questions and then they get much harder the older we get. The same also go for many who have chosen to follow Christ. In the beginning, many accepted Jesus Christ not knowing the full cost of the cross—something that has greatly hurt the church. Questions often posed by many minister are far too simple in order to win converts. As a results, money, trials and the lust for this world have taken tole on many new or naive Christians. A lesson, I learned the hard way too, but thank God for second chances.  

After the Lord gave me another chance, I learned to follow Him and to live debt free. I've trusted the Lord to meet all our needs. Then the Lord gave my wife and I several opportunities to invest some extra money without borrowing and still live by faith. What happened was nothing we had expected. Thieves (satan's helpers) always found a way to steal the money we had invested. They were fairly large amounts by our standards. However, God promises He would restore all things, but when and how is not always the way we would expect. (This actually applies for almost everything in life, not just money.) God has told me several times over the years that I would be a wealthy man, and we believe Him. But we would not pursue it by striving, but by faith.

A little over a year ago, God had a friend and I go out and celebrate by faith, making our second million dollars. We hadn't even made our first, much less more than a few thousand before the thieves took our investment. We've been living from paycheck to paycheck or selling things like many other people. My wife and I even sold our wedding rings last spring (that too was a prophecy). Yet, God had said, we would be wealthy and rich and he would restore all things lost or stolen, which also included my marriage.

A couple months ago, we got an email from a legal firm stating that they would be returning stolen funds from one of our investments, and that there would be a form coming in the mail. It was to be returned with proof of our investment. This was a surprise and also a disappointment, one we had not expected. However, before we got the form, the Lord impressed upon me one night to read Isaiah 58. He also wanted me to read it at church on Wednesday night. After I read it to the church, I explained that I believe God wants us to focus on His desires and not our own, especially this time of year. I had explained that I believe this messages was for whole Body of Christ, not just this church.

A couple night later we had another awesome meeting with God. The Lord had a lot to say, one thing was that we would be financially blessed. But, He would create it a different way from what we thought, and letting go of the refund would be the key. My friend had already obeyed God a few night before. God indicated I was faithful on reading Isaiah 58, Wednesday night. Now, I had something else to say and do the following night.

The next day my wife informed me that we had gotten the refund letter from the lawyers. So that night, I told her that it was God's desire for us, "to let it go." Letting go of $9,000—that's rightfully yours, would seem crazy to most people. But it's not, if your desire is to trust and obey God, and so we did.

Life is not about money, things or being a millionaire, but knowing the heart of the Father. He will bless all His sons and daughters in His time and way, and I for one am banking on that. God chooses the foolish things to confound the wise. Most of my life, certain people though I was foolish. I am a fool for Christ, and the Heavenly Father is my inheritance. He is my everything.  And nothing, not even money can compared to being a son and a friend of God. I pray that wholes true for you.

Note: In the book of Genesis we have the story of Jacob, who married Laban's two daughters. God wanted to bless Jacob and nothing was going to stop it. Not even sneaky, cheating Laban nor his two stealing sons could stop it from happening. Jacob was a blessed man in every way, and in a short time he also became a very wealth man. 

Therefore, we should be willing to wait also, for the Lord's timing. The scripture says, that the wealth of the wicked is stored up for the righteous. (Prov. 13:22) God will distribute it, in His time and way. And God's will, is always accomplished!