Do you desire God to give you more than what you have in your hands? Faithfulness is the principle key. Faithfulness is the power that increases whatever you have in your hands. In John 3:27, we learn that no person can receive anything except God gives it. And when he gives it, you and I must be faithful with it. We have to be diligent with whatever God has given us. We should put our whole in it, treasure it and celebrate it. Our attitude towards it should be of thankfulness, contentment and committed to it without despising it. The servant who was praised in the parable Jesus gave in Matthew 25:23 was a faithful man. He worked out the talent and ensured it multiplied.
Whatever God has given you is where your abundance is. If you despise it, the grace of abundance will lift off. If you are ashamed of it and you always hide it, you will be like the other servant who hid his one talent and was later grabbed from him. God brings increase using what is already in your hands. With faithfulness there can be meals in a coin.
The blessing God put on mankind in Genesis 1:28 was that of multiplication and increase. Why? Because he had only given them seed. God gives us seeds and adds the blessing that makes rich. The blessing of multiplication and increase is innate – we are born with it. You don’t need prayer for it, except to believe that God put it on all human beings through Adam. You too have that blessing on you. In case you don’t know, Adam didn’t lose the blessing of increase even after leaving the Garden of Eden. That is why even people who are not believers increase in riches if they acknowledge their talents and work them out diligently with patience and financial soundness. Some people are not increasing because they have despised their jobs, talents and skills. While someone is despising his carpentry skill, there is a man who is making furniture and increasing financially. While one despises working as a house help, there is a woman who is prospering through that work.
When you receive and accept whatever God has placed in your hands and are faithful, God will entrust you with much more. Most people despise what God has given them because they like comparing with their mates. That is what the man in the parable Jesus gave did; he compared his one talent with those who had more and consequently lost it. What you despise you lose. When I learnt this principle, I began to look at whatever God has given me as a seed for more. Even with one person in attendance of the midweek service, I preached as though they were thousands. I applied the same effort and energy regardless of how many people were going to show up. It doesn’t matter how much others have; be proud of what you have. It doesn’t matter how glamorous your friend’s marriage and house looks; thank God for your marriage and home. Never despise your husband’s efforts; thank God for him; receive whatever he brings at home with joy and gratitude. If you struggle with expressing genuine joy in receiving what your husband brings at home, pray that God rescues you from that ungrateful spirit. Ask him to fill you with the joy of receiving anything you are given. Some women pretend to be happy when their husbands bring them a pair of low quality footwear. Rejoice and thank God for that effort. Appreciated efforts encourage men to do much more. Some women may despise your husband but inside their hearts they know that if he was to approach them, they would jump up to spoil him and make him look good. In a world where honest is hard to find, one should be careful about what they hear from family and friends.
Women, save yourselves the unnecessary stress by staying away from some friends on social media who just post what they acquire. Be real and show maturity. Posting personal progress of what you have acquired is unnecessary. As a child of God, whatever you do should build people and glorify Jesus Christ. When I was in Lusaka, there were many people that followed and called me to travel out of Zambia to go and collect some charms for crowds to attend our church services. Not once but many times. Yet in those temptations I proclaimed that I would rather walk and preach with a free conscience than to indulge in witchcraft for a superficial lifestyle. I always declared that crowds are not a measure of a person’s anointing. Jesus said that narrow is the way that leads to life and wide is the way that leads to destruction.1 Where there is truth, crowds are a rare case than the opposite. I have never been sad in ministry over crowds because I have read the truth and that is what I share. I had attended meetings where everyone went driving while I got there on a Yango but that never bothered me. When you know the truth and are content, Satan can’t stress you. Over what? A car, food, clothes, money, trips to Dubai? No!
We know the truth and we are satisfied in living our purpose and working it out. Whatever God gives us can’t distract us. We look at that as resources to do more for God. Therefore, even with abundant resources we endeavor to remain faithful stewards. When you have a purpose – driven life, you are always grateful for what God has given you because with it, you know you can still carry out God’s will.
Therefore, today I ask you to look at all that God has given you and begin to thank him for it. Go beyond thanksgiving and make a commitment to be diligent with whatever you have. If it’s work, show your gratitude to God by taking it seriously and ensuring you are never late. If it’s a relationship, ensure you respect your partner and give honor to them. If it’s business, ensure you pour your whole heart and strength in it as you work it out with discipline and patience. Never despise what brings you joy and puts food on your table. Remember that there can be meals in a coin when you are faithful.
- Matthew 7:13-14 ↩︎