The New Year began with many plans being drawn and old ones looked over to see why they did not come to pass. Based on the Scriptures, by faith, it costs God nothing to bless us of all that we have ever dreamt of or asked for. But the question is, is that the goal of God, to give a man everything he desires? We may argue that Jesus said: “…I have come that they may have life and have it in abundance” (John 10:10b). Yes! But is a man’s life defined and qualified by the amount of substance he has or doesn’t have? A man’s life is way much more than what he has or doesn’t have. Many of us agree with the foregoing, but we live like our lives are the total of what we have or would have! We forget that God always has a goal in mind in all that He does.
From Genesis to Revelation, we never saw Him waste resources or create things for the sake of it. Everything is created to have a grand purpose and all work in sync to please Him! This we cannot comprehend except we come to Him: “Because of faith, we understand about how God made the universe. He spoke His word to make it happen. In that way, God made all the things that we can see. He made them from things that nobody could see” (Hebrews 11:3, EASY). The world, the universe and all their contents were created to give Him glory. When the glory was lost in Genesis 3 as a result of the fall of man, Jesus came with one message: To establish the Kingdom of God upon the earth! Please note, it is not the kingdom of men (for those that believe the earth was created solely for their pleasure), but the Kingdom of God. Unlike other earthly kingdoms, it was not going to be forced on men nor will it be physically situated in a physical location. But men will be persuaded by the change of hearts to be born into the Kingdom. Thus, the Kingdom will be situated in the hearts of men: “…The Kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the Kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:20b-21). No wonder, when Peter saw the many fish he caught (which he had never caught before), he knew there was more to what this strange man was offering. Thus, he went on his knees and declared: “I am a sinful man”! Beloved, God blessing you is not to showcase you to the world by proving the many riches He has. But for you to come to the point Peter got to, and see beyond the blessing! He desires that His Kingdom be birthed in your heart and for you to do the same in the hearts of others! Sadly, so many stopped at the net-breaking, boat-sinking wealth and successes that do nothing for their souls and their eternal destination in God! You may argue from your lofty height of arrogance that you use some of the wealth to help the expansion of the Kingdom of God as ‘you see fit’. You see the work of God through your wealth-coloured glasses and not from the eye of God! “Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is” (1Corinthians 3:12-13). As a son of the Kingdom, if all you are thinking of amassing are for fleshly pleasures and how you will grow the Kingdom as you see fit, do you not think when tested by fire, they will not burn?
Beloved, do not seek the skills, strength and wealth just to spend them on yourself and your idea of how the Kingdom should be expanded, rather, seek to expand the Kingdom as you are directed to by the Lord. Great wealth will be released to as many as seeking the Lord, but it is not meant to drag them away from Him to the paths of hell, but to bring them to their knees at His feet! Only then can such men be of use for the expansion of His Kingdom – by becoming fishers of men! Beloved, as we see the Return of Jesus Christ get ever closer, we are encouraged to: “So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly but understand what the Lord wants you to do” (Ephesians 5:15-17, NLT). May the Lord grant you the grace to understand that every promotion and increase is to bring you closer to Him for more divine instructions in expanding His Kingdom! Jesus is Coming, how prepared are you, with all that you have or don’t have? Please ponder on these thoughts prayerfully. God bless you!
