Don't Allow Lack to Hold You Back

When we first heard God speak to us about the change He was going to bring to our lives, it was during one of those times when we were financially desperate. I had stayed up the whole night crying out to God and reading the Bible, and God gave me a scripture in Haggai 2:19. “Is there yet any seed left in the barn? Until now, the vine and the fig tree, the pomegranate and the olive tree have not borne fruit. From this day on I will bless you.” God was telling me that if I saw lack, I should look for a seed to plant to reverse the desolation. I told God, “All we have left is us. We’ll give you us.” And that’s all God needs. He wants our heart - all of us.

That night as I was seeking the Lord, He told me that we were going to be helping families get out of debt. I was so excited that I woke my husband up and told him that we were going to help families. When I began to tell him what I had heard, he was not very excited. At that time, we were in debt ourselves, and he was discouraged and depressed.  It is difficult for a husband to have the feeling that he can’t do for his family what he wants to do. However, I believed in Gary, and I knew God believed in him. So, here I was waking him up in the middle of the night telling him how we were going to help families get out of debt and strengthen their marriages. He looked at me and said, “I wish God would show me first,” and then he went back to sleep. That was it. I just kept praying, and not long after that, God also gave him a dream about helping families.

We couldn’t let our lack hold us back from what God had showed us about our future.  God showed me that as we would minister the word to others, and as we would share the law of sowing and reaping, He would meet our needs. We continued to share with people what the Bible said. Even during times of sowing in tears, we knew the Bible promised us a season when we would reap in joy. One man looked at our car and our house and said, “How is it YOU can be successful? I don’t understand it!” We decided to work with what we had. Some people wait for the perfect scenario to step into their destiny. “If only I had this or that.” Well, let me tell you there will never be a perfect time to step out in faith, so just do it NOW!

We wanted so badly to help people. Our whole motivation was to be able to give. We would see someone in need we wanted to give to, but we were in such need ourselves we could barely take care of our own family, much less give to anybody else. We said, “God, if you will help us, we will help others. We will continue to give.” And God has helped us. As we continued to give, He continued to bless us. Don’t let lack keep you back from generosity. A life lived for others is so much more rewarding! God was faithful to get us out of debt because we were faithful to be generous with what we had, acting on His promises. Truly, we are living our dreams now because we were faithful to come alongside other people’s dreams then. God is just looking for an open person who will say, “God, if you can use anyone, here I am! This is all you!”

You were created for a purpose. When I think about everything God has done for us, I can tell you it has not been Gary or me who made it happen - it has been God. We did our part. We obeyed and remained faithful to Him, but He brought His purpose to pass in our lives. He wants to do for you what He has done for us. If you commit your ways to Him, God can take you from where you are to where He wants you to be. Don’t allow lack to hold you back. Don’t think that someday you will make a difference when you have money or a better car or a nice house or a better education. Make the decision to be used of God right now with what you have. If you are faithful and obedient to Him, He will do for you what no money, education, house or person could ever do. Truly, it is more blessed to give than to receive.