Are You This Bold And Crazy...?
"I want MORE success so I can move the kingdom forward!"
(Yeeahhh!! And the crowd goes wild~~~!)
I don't know about you but when I said that before it looked kinda like this...
"One for me, one for God.
Two for me, two for God.
A car for me, a car for God.
A house for me, a house for God."
Whenever I was saying give me MORE for God,
I was automatically assuming that there would be more for me.
Not in a million years have I ever ask God for LESS. O_o
Why would I do that?
MORE is the only direction to go, right?
LESS? What?! That's the wrong direction, isn't it?
In a way, MORE can be the direction towards the biggest test of your life.
A test that many greater than you have failed.
Cuz when you have MORE,
You cling LESS to God.
It's easy to cling to God when you're hungry, poor or sick.
However...
Clinging to God when your bank account is overflowing,
Clinging to God when your career is soaring,
Clinging to God when your fame and fortune is at an all time high,
Is the MOST challenging test of them all.
Even David, the man after God's own heart abused his power after a season of great success.
Solomon fell to idolatry after a becoming the wisest and wealthiest king in history.
In their beginnings, they both clung tightly to God but after many years of success, they succumbed to tragic abuse of their power and influence.
I'm only saying this to invite you to check-in with where your heart is at regarding success and wealth.
So here's an interesting litmus test.
This is an unusual prayer asking God for something backwards...
"And give me neither undue poverty nor undue wealth— but rather, feed my soul with the measure of prosperity that pleases you."
Whhaattt?!?! O_O
Ask for LESS?
Isn't that the opposite of MORE?
Did your heart skip a beat at the mere though of it?
Is this prayer clashing with your natural desire to have "more, more, more"?
It does in me.
My default has been "more, more, more" for decades.
It's not easy to change that.
But I am willing to pursue it.
I know it's the RIGHT posture of the heart that God wants.
Here's the thing...
I have no doubt that God has prosperity and success planned for me.
However, it's critically important to make sure I'm not holding a tight grip on MY concept of success.
I MUST learn to surrender 100% of it to God.
HIS will be done.
If He wants me to let go of it, I MUST be ready and willing to do so.
The desire to grow, build, succeed by my own strength is an easy trap for the enemy to distract me with.
So I must be very careful,
Very cautious,
Very on guard when it comes to these temptations.
One way to check to see if I am still holding on tight to my own desires is to ask myself... "Am I willing to pray for LESS success if it's God's will? How do I REALLY feel about that?"
I love this test because this is a very COUNTER-culture prayer for an entrepreneur.
It goes AGAINST my human desires and puts GOD smack at the top in first place.
While the world trains us to take our "unfair share" of the market and be wealthy beyond our wildest imagination,
Proverbs is asking for the exact opposite.
How contrary to popular belief!
Not sure if I should laugh or cry! ^_^
As a follower of Christ, we should all carve these words in the tablet of our hearts.
We should only want the success that is pleasing to God and be ready to reject the rest, no matter how sweet and enticing it seems.
Cuz the thing is...
If God's not in it, what does it matter?
If you made a billion dollars and setup 1000 orphanages, but it wasn't God's will, what does it matter? What if God's plan had you setting up 100,000 orphanages?
If you saved 1000 girls from being sex trafficked, but it wasn't God's will, what does it matter? What if God had planned for you to save 1,000,000 girls from be sex-trafficked?
If you truly believe God's plan is better than yours then start letting go.
Even more than ever before.
Let's be Be BOLD and crazy.
Let's pray a prayer that many entrepreneurs dare not pray.
Dear God,
"give me neither undue poverty nor undue wealth— but rather, feed my soul with the measure of prosperity that pleases you."
How you feelin'? ^_-
I'm proud of you!
God's got you!
Cheers to an amazing 2023!
