One of the easiest ways to discover where our identity lies in is in finances. Strip a person from drawing a salary and you will find where his identity is placed in, especially for men.
Somehow, we tie our identity to our bank account balance. We make decisions based on that. I have seen people going back to where they were, because of the fear of lack of finances, even though God has already called them out. Some would mask insecurity behind responsibility. "We have to be responsible, you know?" "I can't just leave without making a certain plan to ensure that finances are coming in." These are usually fears masquerading as human wisdom.
What if God is waiting for us to step out before He provides? Psalm 23:6 says "Surely goodness and mercy will FOLLOW me all the days of my life..." It doesn't say, "Goodness and mercy will go ahead of you." In other words, providence (His goodness) will most likely not be ahead of you. Providence FOLLOWS you. Only when you step out, providence comes in. It's the same principle as laying hand on the sick. The sick doesn't get healed before you lay hand. They get healed after you laid hand. Signs and wonders FOLLOW you.
The fear of lack is very real. But it also reveals who we trust in. Many Christians know that God is our Provider. We know it full well in our head. We can close both eyes and say the compound name Jehovah Jireh. But you will know if you really know Him as the Provider in your heart when you don't draw a salary and your bank account is almost reaching a zero.
This is why there are many Christian property agents living without integrity. Because they have tied their identity to finances. I believe they genuinely struggled through a period before they finally compromised. When you don't experience God coming true for you for a period of time, you will want to take over His job of providence. This is why many succumbed to giving fake offers, dummy advertisements, telling white lies, undercutting, etc.
When I came out from full-time church ministry, I struggled for the first two-three months. I realised it had been pretty comfortable for me to be drawing a regular salary in church. When I struggled without any income, I realised that I only knew God as my Provider in the head all these years. I preached many times on Him as the Provider. But I wasn't living in the revelation of Him as my Provider. It was due to false identity built in me because of the family that I was raised in.
In that period of three months, God spoke to me clearly to soak in His love everyday. I simply spent time soaking in His presence and receiving His love daily. In that season, I remember attending a seminar having the speaker sharing the exact same thing I heard from God in my morning devotion. Soak and rest in His love. There would be another conference theme which said "Return to the Father's Love". Though I didn't go for it, I knew God was speaking consistently to me. He was revealing Himself as my Father who provides. He wanted me to know in my heart, not in my head.
When my identity was secure in Him, He began to provide in amazing way. You can say that finances literally dropped from heaven. Literally.
I don't write a newsletter asking for finances like some organisations. I personally don't believe in that. I just can't ask for money and testify to others that God provides amazingly. It's like going around telling everyone that I need a house, and when someone buys it for me, I say, "Wow God provides for me!" Well, I can't get past that. Just my conviction.
Psalm 23:5 says "...You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows."
In the period of soaking in His love, I meditated on this verse that I had read so many times before. I wondered how the two parts are connected. He began to speak to me, "Your cup of blessings overflows when you know My love."
God anoints us as His sons and daughters. He doesn't anoint you if you are not His son. As His sons and daughters, we are also His beloved. When we know how much He loves us, we have boldness and confidence to receive from Him. Faith always works through love. His love is the foundation where faith rests upon. So the more we know His love for us, the more we have confidence in Him as our Provider. That releases the manifestation of the blessings.
If we know that we are seated with Christ and blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, our identity will not be affected by our bank account balance. Because our identity is in Christ. As He is, so are we in this world.
Your position determines your providence.
Knowing that we are His beloved sons and daughters in the heart (not in the head) empowers us to receive His providence.
P.S: The book of Ephesians is a powerful epistle to meditate on. #identity
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