Faithful in the Small

How many of you are believing God to prosper you? Maybe you are believing for a new house? How about a new vehicle? Maybe you want a promotion at work? A new job?

As human beings we don't like the idea of stagnation. We want to continuously move forward. If someone told you that in ten years your life would be exactly the same as it is now, most of you would not be happy. You are not wrong to feel that way. We are made for growth.

Some religious people would say that God doesn't prosper us with material things, but that is not what the Word says. Go see for yourself in Deuteronomy 28:1-14 what God promised Abraham. We are heirs according to that same promise.

It is God's will for us to prosper and be in health (3 John 1:2.) We should expect increase and improvement in every way, every day.

"Well I have been believing for something for a long time and it hasn't happened."

The chances are that you have stagnated because you have not been faithful with what you have. Even if it is just a little. Especially if it is just a little.

Several years ago, I began thinking and dreaming about moving into a new house. I had a constant obsession with looking at houses, scrolling through new listings, and even attending open houses. I was not ready for a new house in any way, but it was brewing in my spirit.

There was a point where our finances were such a mess that we were on the verge of foreclosure. Every bill was past due and we owed money to everyone. It was awful. Financial pressure is one of the most miserable trials.

One day I was praying and asking God what the issue was.

I heard Him clearly respond, "Your pipes are clogged."

At first I didn't understand, but then I realized what He meant. His way of prospering us is through the seed we sow. If we aren't sowing any seed, then we are getting all backed up, and His harvest provision cannot flow through us the way it should.

I've heard it this way, "If He can get it through you, He will get it to you."

That means that if He can trust us to sow into His kingdom through our tithes and offerings, then He can act on our behalf and bless us, because we are operating in faith. It takes faith to give your money away, especially when you really need it. Faith is the currency of heaven. If you want to see things start happening, start stepping out in faith. Finances are a great place to start.

We began faithfully tithing, even if it meant no money was left for groceries. God always provided and we began prospering.

Back to the house story. The house we lived in was constantly having problems. The ac units would break, the roof would leak (several times, in several places) the plumbing would clog, the hot water heater broke, the fridge broke, the washer broke. There were never ending issues.

How many of you know how hard it is to take care of something when you don't like it? When you get a car off the showroom floor, you are a lot more inspired to keep it nice than you would be for an old beater.

It would have been really easy to just let it all go or do a quick fix to the issues.

We never did that.

We knew that if we wanted something better, then we would have to be faithful, even with a house that was falling apart. We maintained that house as though it were our dream house. We had to prove ourselves faithful, even in the small.

I remember cleaning and telling God how much I didn't want to do it. It's funny because He gave me reassurance that I was doing the right thing and it made it much easier to complete my tasks. I knew there was a purpose bigger than the feeling of that moment.

The time finally came for us to consider a move. We had done lots of things in preparation for a new house. We paid debt off, worked on credit scores and got our bills down to a bare minimum. We felt the nudge in our sprits to move forward and put our house on the market.

We listed the house for a lot of money. We knew it was above market value, but we weren't going to compromise.

Do you know that we got a full price, cash offer within a week?

Not only that, but they didn't want an appraisal, which would have meant we wouldn't have gotten our asking price. To make it even better, we had a five thousand dollar lien on the property, which we would have to pay at closing, but the buyer offered to pay it for us. We still don't know why he did that. Only Jesus.

All that hard work and misery paid off. The Lord brought the perfect buyers and the hard work we put into maintaining that house was worth every minute.

If you are faithful with your little bit of money, God will give you more.
If you are faithful with your current position at work, God will promote you.
If you are faithful with your piece of junk car, God will provide a new one.
If you are faithful with your little house, God will give you a bigger one.

If you are asking for something better, the first thing you need to do is make sure you are giving the current thing your very best.

After we closed on our house, we bought our dream house. We got this house for less than the appraised value, have a lower interest rate than our previous loan, and we were able to remodel and furnish the house to be exactly what we wanted. Not to mention it is 1000 square ft bigger than the old house and in the absolute best neighborhood! If we live our lives according to His Word, it will never fail us.

I say all this to brag on God. His Word is true and it will work for you. He is faithful. Let's be faithful like He is.

He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. Luke 16:10