I remember the first time I bought a car. In the night anytime I heard the car alarm trigger, my heart will jump and I will not be able to sleep again. I noticed that I was happier when I didn’t have a car. Before long, the car started developing all manner of problems and I kept patronizing different mechanics and spending a lot of money on repairs. One day, in anger, I decided to park the car for a while. I ended up parking the car for three years! But God used this to teach me some very deep lessons. It was my first time of learning practical financial wisdom. Do you know that there is blessedness in owning nothing? The joy and peace of mind that comes with it cannot be quantified. Anything you own does not have a future but whatever you hand over to God is secured forever. This is the wisdom behind dedication. The blessings of God are not supposed to make us run away from him; they are supposed to make us fall in love with him. The blessings of God are supposed to make us better worshipers; we are not supposed to make the blessing a god. The blessings of God are not supposed to drive us away from his presence; the blessings of God are supposed to draw us closer to him and get us addicted to his presence because that is where we are going to have the fullness of joy.
The decision to place God first is a wonderful decision, it has an immediate consequence: heaven responds. When you make up your mind to always give God the best – the best of your life, the best of your time, the best of your resources, God will ensure that you always have the best. I practice this personally and it is working for me. God can show you where to put money and it will multiply. There is absolutely nothing he cannot show you if you put him first. If you make up your mind to give God your best, God will ensure that you always have the best and if you are always having the best, over time, you will become the best. Why? Because of one decision to always give God your best. God will ensure that you always have the best to give because God is bound by his word; he is the One that gives seed to the sower and bread to the eater. The first time I decided to be giving offering of the highest denomination I had on me, I didn’t find it easy at all, I struggled with it initially but I bless God for the grace. It is not always easy to do the will of God; your faith will be tested. But if your decision is genuine and you really know this God that he is a rewarder (no one can reward better than him) you will go ahead, you will never compromise. In the moment of pressure, may you find grace to be at the center of God’s will, may you not compromise in the name of Jesus. God does not owe any man. Everything you release in order to be at the center of God’s will for your life is not lost, it is a seed. “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night
shall not cease.” (NKJV) Gen 8:22. Put God first in your life.
Pray –
- Father, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, grant me the grace to always put you first in my mind, in my heart, in my soul and in my life. Amen.
TO BE CONTINUED…..