After years of being a doubter, I finally decided to believe God at His word.
Imagine telling a friend of yours how you are going to do something for him, help him, or serve him in some capacity. Could you imagine your friend saying, “I don’t believe you. Even if you’ve done it before, I still don’t believe you”?
It would probably hurt your feelings.
You just want to help your friend, but he doesn’t believe you. He says, “Your word is not good enough.”
Every time we doubt God’s word, we are telling Him the same thing. We say, “God, I can’t believe you at your word.”
When we can’t believe God at His word, we really miss out on what He has for us. God still does what He says He’s going to do because His promises are irrevocable, but we miss out on the joy of the relationship.
What if you continued to do for your friend what you promised, but your friend still never believed you?
Think about God from this perspective: He’s just looking for someone to believe Him at His word. Are you that person?
A few weeks ago, my son was playing around one of my wife’s file boxes. He noticed a fly that kept landing on the file box. Suddenly, he started shaking the box and flipping it over.
My wife, who was startled by what Aaron was doing, said, “What are you doing, Aaron?”
Aaron replied, “I’m trying to get this fly off of the box,” while he violently shook and turned over the box (he’s 4 by the way).
My wife said, “Don’t worry about it, the fly can’t hurt the box.”
How many times do we get shaken in our lives, thinking that the fly’s of this world will hurt us?
As I thought about this situation it reminded me of how easy it is for us to focus on the little nuances of life that try to shake our confidence in the Lord. I bet if we stepped back, we would realize that much of what we think are dangerous things to be worried about, are simple distractions from fly’s.
Isaiah had a clear picture of who this fly really is. In Isaiah 14:16-17, he says, “‘Those who see you will gaze at you and consider you, saying: “Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms, who made the world as a wilderness and destroyed its cities, who did not open the house of the prisoners?”‘”
When satan is finally seen for who he really is, we won’t shake and tremble because we will realize that he is nothing compared to our God.
If we begin to focus on the Creator and who He is, we won’t have time for the fly’s that buzz in and out of our life. So the next time the fly lands on your file box, don’t worry about it, he can’t hurt your file box.
When you created your business, was God with you?
When you began to build your company, was He there?
Oftentimes, because we don’t physically see God sitting with us, we can forget that He is Immanuel..God with us.
When you are dreaming about starting a new business…God is with you.
When you are opening the doors to your company for the first time…God is with you.
When you’re faced with cash flow issues…God is with you.
When you’re facing a shortage of good employees…God is with you.
But…
Do you acknowledge His presence when you create and build, or do you ignore His heart for you and your business as you build with logic and reason?
One of the biggest business fallacies of our age is humanism, reason and logic. Our Greek way of thinking has squashed our ability to hear clearly from the Lord because our mind has become our God.
Step back and look at the way companies are run these days. Everything is about logic, data, and information. We have businesses run by machines instead of people.
You can change this. You can make a decision to build and grow your company in the presence of the Father. You don’t have to be ruled by reason and logic, but by the voice of Wisdom Himself…Jesus.
Ask God today…God, am I partnering with you as you build my company or am I trying to do it on my own?
A recent article on Yahoo news, “Safes, cash wash up on Japan shores after tsunami” focused on some of the economic repercussions of Japan’s recent tsunami.
The writer describes how the aftermath of Japan’s tsunami had brought in hundreds of safe’s and envelopes of cash; most of which, will never find it’s rightful owner. In Japan it is a common practice to store up wealth in safe’s, rather than put it in the bank. Because of the catastrophe of the tsunami, potentially millions of dollars in Japanese yen will be displaced.
Japan’s economy changed in a day.
Last week we talked about how Elisha’s prophetic word caused the Samaritan’s economy to change in a day. Japan’s situation is not one I wish upon anyone with wealth, but when God shakes things, He shakes them.
This was a literal shaking of the earth which caused a huge transference of wealth. The tsunami was just one example of how God can transfer wealth in a heartbeat.
I believe for the Sons of God He wishes to transfer large amounts of wealth to us so that we can fulfill the purposes of the kingdom of God on earth. Thus we must be prepared to handle what the Lord wants to give us.
In this coming paradigm shift it’s important that we stop focusing so much on making money, but rather receiving the wealth that God wants to give us; whether through our business, or through the shaking of nations.
Let’s position ourselves to inherit all of what God has for us in these coming days.
God is Faithful.
You’ve heard it said before…
You’ve probably said it yourself…
But…
Do you believe it?
Knowing God as Faithful is amazing. However, if we base His faithfulness on what He does instead of who He is, we will doubt His faithfulness when He doesn’t “appear” to be Faithful.
That’s why adoration is so important. When we magnify who God is, even when it doesn’t feel like He is that way, we recognize and begin to believe that our God is who He says He is.
I love watching God fulfill His promises, but His faithfulness does not come from what He does, rather who He is. God was faithful before He created you. He was faithful before He sent His Son to die on the cross. He was faithful before He created time, the universe, and the heavens.
God is Faithful because He is.
He has been Faithful, He is Faithful, and He will always be Faithful. Period.
In 2 Kings 6-7, we read the story about Elisha and the Samaritan famine. Elisha was in Samaria at the time of great desperation and famine. It was so bad that women were eating each other’s children.
Not only was their famine in the land, but there was an army of Syrians camped around the entire city, keeping out the flow of supply into their town.
It was so bad that people were buying dung from birds and paying 80 shekels for a donkey’s head…
Have you ever experienced extreme poverty like that?
Elisha spoke and said that the next day the entire economy would be healed. Instead of bird droppings, people would be buying wheat and barley.
Over night, the Syrian army that was camped around the city heard a noise of chariots and armies. They were so spooked that they left all that they had on the doorstep of Samaria. In fact, they left their horses and stripped their garments in the road as they ran home.
Could you imagine this sight to the people of Samaria when they found out this happened? The king thought it was a hoax, that the Syrians were waiting for the them around the corner or something.
But, God supplied what He said He would.
I am believing that for all of us, that God would send a sound that would scare off the enemy who has been blocking your supply in and out of your life and business.
Believe with me that God can and will change your economy in a day!
The other day we were in the drive-thru at the bank, depositing some money. My four year old son knew that when we went to the bank, his chances of getting a lollipop from the teller were pretty good.
So, unashamedly, he started asking for a lollipop.
His experience had taught him that if he asked for a lollipop every time we went to the bank, he would get one.
This intrigued me because he was so bold in his asking (my son is usually pretty shy).
He didn’t think to care if his asking was rude or inappropriate. He wasn’t afraid that we would say no or the bank wouldn’t let him have one.
He didn’t have any of the experiences in life that would tell him otherwise.
As I thought about this situation, I could see God all in it. As I gave my son the lollipop from the bank teller, I could hear the Holy Spirit saying, “Why don’t you ask me like he did?”
I believe that most of the time we are too afraid to ask God for what we really desire.
What do you desire that you haven’t asked God for?
Take a chance and ask God.
You never know what He’s going to say until you ask Him.
“When are you going to come through, God?”
“Why did this happen to me, God?”
“How could this happen God?”
Questions are easy to come up with. Our hearts are literally flooded with questions. Some good and some bad.
How can a question be bad?
The wrong question can lead us down a dangerous path of believing lies about our God. Asking the wrong question can position God in such a way that is not true.
For years I would ask God, “What do I need to do to provide for my family?”
It was the wrong question. God revealed to me through adoration, that my question was born of the orphan spirit. Deep down I believed that I was on my own and that God didn’t care enough about what I was going through and just wanted to tell me what to do.
The truth is that I was not alone and that God wanted to partner with me in my business so that we could co-labor.
Now the question I ask is, “God how can I partner with you as you provide for my family?”
Do you see the difference?
We need to ask the questions He wants us to ask.
As you adore God and speak about who He is, you will position yourself to hear properly from your Father. It is from the place of adoration that we start to hear the questions He wants us to ask.
If you would like to learn more about how to do this, you should join us on Monday mornings for our Hope for Business conference call. Each Monday, myself and other Christian business leaders pray over our businesses from a place of hope.
On the call you will learn how to adore God, ask the right questions, and live from the place of hope.
Join us!
Everywhere you turn in business from the latest guru books to the networking event, everyone is spilling out tips and techniques.
What can you possibly do with all of this information?
Get confused.
The Bible says that satan is the author of confusion. Is it possible that he wants to confuse you in the running of your business?
Don’t get me wrong, tips and techniques can be great, but when you start getting them from everyone they become overwhelming and confusing.
That’s why we need the spirit of peace to combat this confusion. Peace comes from knowing who God is and what He is up to. Jesus said that He only did what He saw the Father doing, and speak what He heard the Father speaking.
How can you apply Jesus’ example to your business?
Here’s a tip for Christian business owners: Clear out the clutter and focus intently on the voice of your God. Peace will come and you’ll stop being overwhelmed.
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