I’ve been thinking and praying a lot lately for our photography businesses in a most desperate way because things are so slow for me right now, and I’m positive I’m not the only one. In the attempt to cheer my spirit and encourage my heart not to give up, many people have said to me “it’s just the economy…” or maybe the famous “well photography isn’t exactly a life necessity, not when you don’t have money for food!” (a personal favorite of mine to justify my lack of business and make me feel a little bit like I’m doing a noble thing by acknowledging that food is more important for others than it is for us, cause afterall, this is our bread and butter I’m working for too!) Good well meaning people say to me in their sweet voices, “you are really good. It will happen, it just takes time,  with this economy things are just hard…”

And I agree. The economy is hard.  Hard for the world I mean.  But those of us who know Jesus are not of the world…

So what I feel the Spirit of the Most High God has quickened to me is this one thought: God’s blessing is not dependant upon our economy.

That’s it, but that’s so deep isn’t it? God’s blessing to our lives is in no way limited by wallstreet taking a nose dive, nor is it possible because of Obama’s stimulous package! We do not look to the government for a “bail out” any more than we look to the state for a winning lottery ticket! No, we are children of the King, and HE ALONE is the basis of our hope.  God’s blessing in our lives can flow in times of plenty or in times of want. He has never failed to care for those who wholeheartedly look to him for provision. God’s blessing is not dependant upon our economy in any way.

So what IS it dependant on? The same thing it has ALWAYS been dependant on…  him. He laid out principals, divine truths in the universe that are just gonna stay true no matter who you are. Here are a few.

Proverbs 11:25 “A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.”
Proverbs 11:10 “When the righteous prosper, the city rejoices; when the wicked perish, there are shouts of joy.”
(not that we should be praying the wicked are anything but redeemed, but we sure should be praying that EVERY righteous man and woman, business owner – even competition – who are righteous indeed, that they should prosper so that our cities will once again be able to rejoice!)
Proverbs 17:20 “A man of perverse heart does not prosper; he whose tongue is deceitful falls into trouble.”
Proverbs 28:10 “He who leads the upright along an evil path will fall into his own trap, but the blameless will receive a good inheritance.”
Proverbs 28:13 “He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.”
Proverbs 28:25 “A greedy man stirs up dissension, but he who trusts in the Lord will prosper.”
Deuteronomy 5:33 “Walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess.”
Deuteronomy 29:9 “Carefully follow the terms of this covenant, so that you may prosper in everything you do.”

Proverbs 10:22 “The blessing of the Lord brings wealth, and he adds no trouble to it.”

There are simple principals like sowing and reaping… if you don’t sow you won’t reap. And in these “economic times”, what is it that really keeps us from sowing? It’s mostly fear that we ourselves will end up in want. But God is not wanting us to go out and just throw our money into whatever. We still must use wisdom and have the mind and will of the Lord. Think of Elijah. The Lord commanded him first to be feed by ravens, and so he was. That’s divine provision without human intervention for sure! But he had to know where to be to get it, God told him exactly the location the provision would be delivered. That takes a close by listening ear to hear a word that specific. Amen? But then after that he gave him a harder word to trust… “Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commended a widow in that place to supply you with food.” Why would that be harder than trusting a bird to bring you meat on his own??  Because now Elijah was reliant on ANOTHER HUMAN  trusting  in God as well!! They had to BOTH have faith that God would deliver. Now Elijah could have walked in fear and decided to stay right there in that cave and hope the ravens still would bring him meat. And that widow could have held onto the fear of death and been greedy with her last meal, but she already had a command as well. And so she sowed her last seed, all that she had into providing for the one her Lord God told her to provide for. Ya know, I bet dozens of other strangers and neighbors and friends who long past had run out of food pressed her for a bit of hers as well when they heard she had it. That’s pretty much just how we humans are, ain’t it? But she knew exactly where to invest the last little bit that she had because she already had heard from the Lord. Because God didn’t say “I will command the widow”. He said “I HAVE commanded a widow”.  It was a done deal. She knew, Elijah knew. They both trusted and both were blessed tremendously.

So tieing this all together… what does it mean for us who follow Him? I think that if God should bring to us the opportunity to sow a seed, and the Spirit confirms that the opportunity is right and from God, we should sow it in faith and love and have no fear. But maybe we can take it a step further…  maybe we should start thinking like a farmer. I doubt many farmers just walk into a grain store and pick up whatever looks good and just go sow it. I’m thinking they probably plan ahead and research what seed they should sow. What lands they should cultivate. What fields to plow and when to plant. What I’m saying is, we should be seeking God about where we might be given an opportunity to sow and then ASK for the opportunity to do it!

Right now I have seed packs sitting in my kitchen unopened. They would have produced nice flowers, had I been able to plant them in soil. And they few that I DID plant in little starters are ready to be transferred to pots. But I have no soil for them. So I have to ask God for the soil so that I can plant the seed that is ready to bring forth it’s beauty. I think I should do the same with my giving. I want to be asking God WHERE I can give, how much I can give, to whom can I give. I want to seek opportunities to plant some faith and reap the harvest of it! I want to look for moments when I can be used to be the answer to someone else’s seed of faith that they sowed elsewhere. Let’s be PROACTIVE SOWERS! Let’s race God to the blessing and just try to beat him to it!  haha… I bet we can’t! As we become cheerful, faithful, obedient givers we will prove to the world …

…THAT THE BLESSING OF GOD IS NOT DEPENDANT ON OUR ECONOMY!

“Papa, these are wonderful and amazing thoughts, and we delight in your word and truth as it is set before us. We do not want to live as unwise, but as wise. We do not want to live in fear, but in your love. We do not want to live in dispare, but in your hope. And we do not want to live in doubt, but in your faith. Quicken now to us your truth that we might stand on solid ground when the devourer and theif comes to whisper at our door threats that we are about to lose it all. Let us stand firm and proclaim the truth that you have set forth in your word. The righteous will not be forsaken, neither will their children go hungry! Papa, we ask for opportunity to sow into the lives of others…  not just in church, but in sensitivity to your voice. To the neighbor down the street who’s husband left and she has three kids and no clue how she’ll feed them dinner. What do we know but that You will not save her soul from hell the night we bring her bread and meat, and mac’n cheese for the kidos, and a little bit of money on top of it and just say we know things are rough, but God wants to care for you. Give us eyes to see where we can demonstrate our faith in the living God, the Most High, the Redeemer and Deliverer, our Jesus. Help us where we are weak in our hearts and yet have fear. Pour your love into those places. Deliver us from doubt and let faith and trust arise within us. May we meditate upon your word and discover the truth within! May we hear your voice clearly so that we use wisdom in our giving. And may we expectantly anticipate the harvest you will bring to us in all ways. In Jesus Name, Amen.