Dr. D's Devotional
Title: Finances 14
by Dennis Reschke
Finances 14
"Cast your bread upon the waters: for you shalt find it after
many days. Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for you know not
what evil shall be upon the earth. He that observes the wind shall not sow;
and he that regards the clouds shall not reap. In the morning sow your seed,
and in the evening withhold not your hand: for you know not which shall
prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.
" (Ecc 11:1,2,4,6). There are several points to be made from these scriptures.
One is that there is a time element involved in the harvest. Any farmer,
looking at the natural analogy, knows that the crop doesn't immediately
come up after sowing the seed. At first "the blade, then the ear, after
that the full corn in the ear" (Mk 4:28). A common mistake Christians make
in standing by faith on a promise is getting discouraged because there seems
to be no immediate results. Every January in every gym across the country
there is a significant influx of people trying to get in shape as a New
Year's resolution, and come February they're all gone. Why? no endurance
or patience. You don't "try" faith, you do it. If you are trying this stuff,
I'll tell you right now, nothing's going to happen. When you adopt the attitude
that you're going to stand on this promise until Jesus returns or I die,
now you're fixin' to see a manifestation.
Another point is that God's law of sowing and reaping is not seasonal, it's
all year round. You can plant as much and as often as you like. When you
do it that way, rather than waiting to sow only after you reap, you're crops
will be plenteous. Sowing all the time, expecting a return, will get you
a return upon every incoming wave. This concept of sowing and reaping shouldn't
be something new. Even the unbelievers know about it: "gotta spend money
to get money".
Some people never get to enjoy that kind of constant blessing. That's because,
instead of giving, they keep waiting to receive. They stand on the beach
saying, "I wonder where my prosperity is? As soon as it comes in, I'll start
giving." God's economy doesn't work that way. He said, "Give and it will
be given to you again. The way you measure it, it shall be measured back
to you" (Luke 6:38). You have to make the first move. You have to send a
ship out before your ship can come in.
Another point in these scriptures
pertains to when to sow. It says don't be moved by the wind or the clouds,
by the circumstance. This law isn't based on the circumstance. An airplane
will fly is fair or foul weather because it relies on the laws of thrust
and lift, not whether its raining or not. This takes faith. In the natural,
it takes faith to invest when you don't have a lot, or the stock is way
down. What if you it goes belly up? what if the economy doesn't pick up?
This brings me to the last point of a "diverse portfolio", to use a secular
term. It says to plant seeds in several areas, not just one. Plant financial
seeds in good soil, not bad. There's got to be joy behind your giving. A
"good soil" ministry will bring you a joy to give to it, not a guilt if
you don't.
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