Are you rich toward worldly things or rich toward God? In Luke 12:16-21, we read about a rich fool who thought to himself that he has lots of crops and to store all that, he’ll build bigger barns. Then, he thought that he’ll relax, eat, drink and be happy. But God asked him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ (v. 20).
If we put it in current terms, then it’s like saying, ‘I’ll work, work, work and save, save, save,’ but then finally when you decide you’re ready to enjoy all your savings, it’ll be too late. It’s ok to have money. It’s ok to be rich, but never let it be the lord of your life. The Bible doesn’t says, ‘money is the root of all evil’, but rather, ‘the love of money is the root of all evil’ (1Timothy 6:10).
Being rich toward God really means to be content with what God gives you. Later in that chapter 12 of Luke, Jesus says that we shouldn’t worry about what to eat or what to wear, because the same God that takes care of the birds of the air and the flowers of the field is more than able to take care of you. He considers you more valuable than the birds and the flowers. The first and most important thing for you to do is to seek His kingdom then all these things will be given to you (v.31).
You are His child and the Father wants nothing more than to see His child be happy and successful.
We read about many great stories in the Bible about people who have gone through the experience of rags to riches. David and Joseph are great examples of such experience. Joseph’s story is not only about someone who went from rags to riches, but also about a person, who was despised and belittled by his own family, including his parents.
Joseph was so despised by his brothers that they thought of different ways to get rid of him, whether it was by killing him or selling him. Fortunately, because of one brother’s intervention, they didn’t kill him, but sold him to slavery. They didn’t care how he was gone, they just wanted him gone. When he shared his dreams to his family, his father who considered him to be the favorite child and loved him more than the other brothers, and made a nice coat of many colors for him, said, “What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?” (Gen. 37:10).
However, after going through many years of struggles and sufferings, his dreams, which were given to him by God, finally came true. He became the second in command of the greatest nation in the world of that time. At that point, even his father had to go to him for provision due to the famine.
After he had those dreams, he must have been scared and thought that he didn’t have the capacity or the ability to be a great leader. If we put it in the current terms, for example, be the President of the United States or be the CEO of a Fortune 500 company. But when the time came, God not only lifted him up, just like in his dream, but also gave him the wisdom, knowledge and understanding from above to not only have the people of that nation as well as the surrounding nations be fed through seven years of famine but also lead the greatest nation in the world of that time. When the family realized that Joseph’s dream had come true, no doubt, they had the shock of their lifetime.
David is another person we read about in the Bible who went from rags to riches, but also faced the similar criticisms and belittling from his family. He was considered the runt of the family. His brothers always mocked him and kept him away from their gatherings. His father also considered him as no one that would amount to any great things, but merely a delivery boy and a shepherd to mend the father’s sheep. He was considered so worthless that when Samuel, the prophet, came to anoint one of the sons to be the next king of Israel, Jesse, the father didn’t even consider David to be a part of the selection.
When God told Samuel, that He has not chosen any one of those sons that were present, Samuel asked Jesse if he has any other sons. The response Jesse gives sounds as if he’s talking about a servant rather than a son. “There is still the youngest, but he is tending the sheep” (1 Samuel 16:11). When he says that, it sounds as if he’s thinking, ‘Oh, there’s no way God has chosen David, let alone chosen him to be the next king of Israel.’ When Samuel was told by God, “Rise and anoint him; he is the one” (v.12), no doubt, that moment the family had the shock of their lifetime.
It’s true when the Lord told Samuel, “man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). We think by looking at the outward appearance, ‘Oh, he’s got the looks and the body to be the king.’ ‘He’s been a soldier all his life and the king of a nation needs to know a thing or two about wars and battles and how to win them in order to battle other nations and to lead your own nation into victory.
Who would have thought that a mere shepherd would lead the great nation of Israel into so many victories? But who better to lead a nation and keep it protected from other nations who wish destruction to this nation, than a shepherd who’s protected his flock of sheep from wild animals.
Think of these two lives from the Bible when someone puts you down or belittles you, whether it is your family, friends or even relatives. Ultimately, it is not your family or the people who know you that decides your destiny, rather the God who created you. Always remember, He wishes success for you, not failure, even more than you wish that for yourselves.
If it’s His will for you to be the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, then He will not only raise you up to that level, but also give you the wisdom, knowledge and understanding from heaven to do the job well and successfully.
It is His promise that, you will be the head and not the tail (Deut. 28:13) and that you will lend and borrow from none (vs.12). It is the Lord’s wish for you to be rich and prosperous. So that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work (2 Cor. 9:8). So, if you’re experiencing rags now, don’t worry, riches are just around the corner, if and only if you rely and trust in the Lord.
May you find peace and comfort in these words and promises of our Lord.
He heals the brokenhearted, and binds up their wounds (Psalm 147:3) (NIV).
Is your heart broken? Does it feel like someone just ripped out your heart and threw it in the garbage or threw it on the ground and trampled upon it? We, humans, especially women, tend to get hurt often and it’s often the people or person that’s close to us, perhaps our spouse or significant other that hurts us.
Some intentionally hurt us; however, there are some who unintentionally hurt us. No matter what or who hurts us, we should always be comforted knowing that our Lord is always there to heal our broken heart.
Often we go through circumstances where we aren’t able to share our problems with anyone, not even our spouse, in those times, we should remember to run to our Heavenly Father, who is waiting with open arms, ready to put us in His lap and listen to our heartaches and console us. He is always there to wipe away our tears and bind our wounds.
The Psalmist wrote in Psalm 51:17, “My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise” (NIV). All we need to do is read His word and spend some time in prayer, where we will be comforted. If there’s anyone that can give us peace, it’s the Prince of Peace.
I love that hymn! It is the most amazing hymn with the most profound meaning in it. It is well with my soul...no matter what happens, no matter how big of a storm may come, no matter whether I'm broke or I'm broken...it is well with my soul. Come what may...it is well with my soul. You may think, 'I wish it was so easy to say that', but do you know who wrote that song and when did that writer write that song?
It was written by Horatio Gates Spafford. He was a well-known Chicago lawyer in the 1860s. In 1870, his one and only son died of scarlet fever at the age of four. In 1871, in the "Great Chicago Fire", he lost everything that he had invested in the real estate.
After two years later, Spafford and his family decided to go on a vacation. They were going to go to England to meet his close friend, D.L. Moody on his evangelistic crusades. Horatio and Anna, his wife, and their children went to New York from where they were to go on the 'Ville de Havre' across the Atlantic. However, a last minute business development kept Horatio from joining them. Since he didn't wanted to ruin the trip, he urged his wife and four daughters to go ahead and he'll meet up with them later.
However, the ship never reached the destination. It had collided with an English ship, the Loch Earn, and sank within minutes. Anna, along with 47 other passengers, survived; however, 226 lives including Anna's four daughters, Maggie, Tanetta, Annie, and Bessie, were killed.
Horatio received a horrible telegram from his wife stating, "saved alone". Horatio boarded the next ship to be with his grieving wife. During that voyage, the captain of the ship called him to the bridge and told him that was the location where the Ville de Havre was wrecked. That is when Horatio penned the lyrics of this great hymn called "It is well with my soul".
It is often difficult, but it is vital, to trust in God. He knows our past, present, and future. He has seen the whole puzzle, whereas, we are only seeing one piece at a time. Often we do not understand why certain things happen the way they do, but He knows best. Trust in the Lord. The wisest man ever lived said, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding." He will never fail you nor disappoint you. Humans will let you down, but God never will. Your family and friends might let you down, but Jesus will be at your side at all times.
But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint (Isaiah 40:31) (NKJV).
It is very important to wait on the Lord. We are living in a fast-paced world. Everything is fast this or instant that. It’s either fast-food or instant coffee. We don’t have the patience to wait for anything. If anyone or anything is 5-minutes late, heaven forbid, we get irritated or mad.
The sad part is that we expect God to work like that too. We expect Him to show up the moment we call on Him and do a miracle right that instant. If He doesn't, we get mad at Him. We say, ‘He’s late’ or ‘He can’t do a miracle’; or something to that effect. We start blaming Him when things don’t go the way we want to. Well, the fact of the matter is, He might not show up when we want Him to, but He’s never late. He’s right on time. He shows up when He knows it’s the best time to show up. I always say, ‘He knows me better than I know myself.’
We must always remember His delay is not His denial. That means, just because He didn’t show up when you want Him to, that doesn’t means He’s forgotten about you. As the prophet Isaiah said, if we wait on the Lord, we will renew our strength. The Psalmist also says in Psalm 27:14, “Wait on the LORD; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the LORD!”
So, patience is the key, and let’s start by putting that into practice in our life.
John 14:12 – Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things thanthese, because I am going to the Father (NIV).
If Jesus said we will do the things that He did and even greater than that, why aren’t we? In the 10 years that I’ve been in the faith, I have not seen a blind person receive sight, yet; deaf person hearing, yet; mute person talking, yet; lame person walking, yet. I haven’t even seen a dead person come back to life, yet. Why is that? Is it because we don’t believe in the Word? Is it because we don’t believe in God? Or is it lack of faith? Whatever it is, it needs to change.
We need to stand firm in the Word. If we don’t believe God, then whom can we believe. God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind (Numbers 23:19, NIV). Rather than blaming God for miracles not taking place, perhaps we should check our faith tank. Is it running on empty? Does the faith fuel need to be pumped in? Is it time to visit the faith station?
The first couple of words in the King James Version of that verse say, ‘Verily, verily’. Every time in the Bible, Jesus said ‘verily, verily’, He meant ‘truthfully’. Not that He would lie or ever needed to lie, but He meant that it is ‘for real’. It’s like when people say, ‘if you didn’t hear anything I’ve said all this time, listen to this.’ It was given very much importance. So, Jesus is saying, we will do even greater things than these (the ones He did), because He’s gone to the Father. He’s not saying, we may do or we can do if we want to, He’s saying we will do, which means the power is already in us to be able to do everything He did and more, if, and only if, we believe.
That’s the key word, believe. We have to believe in Jesus. We must believe He is the Son of God. We must believe He is the Savior of this world. We must believe that He came into this world, lived, suffered, died, buried and on the third day, rose again, and He is coming back again. We must also believe in the things He did. If I don’t believe Jesus raised people from dead, then how can I bring people back from death?
