The COVID-19 epidemic has wreaked havoc on the global economy, our national economy, and most people’s personal finances. So now that we are through the worst of it, we are left with a yawning question: How will we move back into increase after restrictions from the field have lifted?
Throughout the current economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 epidemic, the Lord has showed me many keys to moving back into increase, including “tightening my belt”—i.e., learning to live on less—but one of the most significant keys is creative giving. We must not give haphazardly during the changes ahead but purposefully. The poor will always be with us, but we must never lose our compassion to give of what we have been given to increase the life flow of others. We must develop ways to keep transforming the societal structure around us.
When this viral crisis began to produce many restrictions, my first thought was, “How will the many widows that we minister to be taken care of?” Currently we have about 340 widows that we watch after and try to give to quarterly. We are always available to them if they have needs. I knew that I needed to write a letter to each widow and send them an offering to help alleviate the need for them to go in and out of their homes as much during a time of quarantine. When we send to every widow at one time, that is a considerable amount of money. I refused to allow any sort of fear to attack my mind over the future but knew that if I would just bless the widows, we would be blessed.
God is bringing us through some hard times. He wants you to know He is with you and has a plan for your life. The best is yet ahead! Never give in to defeatism. A good example of this comes from 2 Kings 4. This chapter contains a story of a woman in debt and crisis after the death of her husband.
A certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, ‘Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord. And the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves.’ So Elisha said to her, ‘What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?’ And she said, ‘Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.’ Then he said, ‘Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors—empty vessels; do not gather just a few. And when you have come in, you shall shut the door behind you and your sons; then pour it into all those vessels, and set aside the full ones.’ So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured it out. Now it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, ‘Bring me another vessel.’ And he said to her, ‘There is not another vessel.’ So the oil ceased. Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, ‘Go, sell the oil and pay your debt; and you and your sons live on the rest’ (2 Kings 4:1–7, NKJV).
The prophet Elisha showed this woman a kingdom principle: the principle of multiplication. Elisha asked the widow, “What can I do for you?” The Lord is still asking this question today. God had a plan to bring this widow into His blessing and to meet the deepest desires of her heart, and He has the same goal for you.
In Mark 6:32–44 we find a similar story, in which Jesus had compassion on a large crowd. He had been teaching them many things, and when it grew late in the day, He told His disciples to give them something to eat.
“But He answered and said to them, ‘You give them something to eat.’ And they said to Him, ‘Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give them something to eat?’ But He said to them, ‘How many loaves do you have? Go and see.’ And when they found out they said, ‘Five, and two fish.’ Then He commanded them to make them all sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in ranks, in hundreds and in fifties. And when He had taken the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven, blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and the two fish He divided among them all. So they all ate and were filled. And they took up twelve baskets full of fragments and of the fish. Now those who had eaten the loaves were about five thousand men” (Mark 6:37–44).
When God asks, “What can I do for you?” He’s saying He wants to bless you. In Romans 8:32 Paul tells us, “If God loved you enough to send His own Son to die for you, there’s no good thing that He will withhold” (author’s paraphrase). The word blessing means to cause to increase. A curse brings decrease, while a blessing brings increase. If we are walking in God’s blessing, we should always be increasing. To increase is to prosper.
During the Dark Ages most of the church bought into the philosophy of asceticism, which said that God is happier when we are poor. Those who wanted to please God were told to take a vow of poverty. But that philosophy is not in the Bible. Almost all the people we read about in God’s Word were prosperous. Abraham was one of the wealthiest men in the land. Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph prospered as well. David, Daniel, and Paul were great men of God, and they were successful.
God wants you to be successful as well. He wants you to prosper and succeed in everything He has called you to do. That is His will, and that is His promise. You are not to worship money or let it control your life—the love of money will always get you in trouble. But God is not against money! He doesn’t want His children to walk in poverty and His church to be hindered by lack. If you learn how to give, you will put yourself in a position to receive His blessing and favor on your life. {eoa}
Adapted from Chapter 34 of The Passover Prophecies: A New Era with a New Season of War (Charisma House 2020) by Chuck Pierce.
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