There are four things that you can do with your resources (time, money, energy, affection, attention, revelation, talents, spiritual gifts):
1. Waste: You do this when you fail to steward your resources but instead squander them on fleshly lusts or unwise practices. You also do this when you naively give to those who will not steward what you have given them. You do this when you use any of your resources (including emotional energy and time) to stand between a person and the discomfort of his choices, interfering with the discipline of God in his life.
2. Lend: You do this when you knowingly and intentionally give to the poor, those who, for whatever reason, do not think like kings and cannot steward what they are given. When you give to them, you expect nothing in return, but are simply exercising compassion, demonstrating the kindness and generosity of the Father. In doing this, you are literally lending to the Lord and will be repaid by Him. This loan does not bring multiplied increase, but God does repay you with interest.
Every time you give to the poor you make a loan to the Lord. Don’t worry — you’ll be repaid in full for all the good you’ve done. –Proverbs 19:17, TPT
3. Spend: Spending is simply using our resources on things we need. Our Father knows our needs and generously gives us daily bread (Matthew 6:11).
And [God] Who provides seed for the sower and bread for eating will also provide and multiply your [resources for] sowing and increase the fruits of your righteousness [which manifests itself in active goodness, kindness, and charity].
–II Corinthians 9:10, AMPC
God gives seed for sowing and bread for eating, but notice here that what is multiplied is not bread but seed. He gives more to those who are good stewards, those He can trust to invest in a way that will multiply.
4. Invest: Mark 4 and Matthew 13 tell the familiar parable of the man who sowed seeds. Some fell by the wayside and were devoured by birds. Some fell on stony soil and withered as they were scorched by the sun. Some were choked out by thorns. The ones that fell on good ground produced a multiplied harvest, in varying degrees – some multiplied by 30, some by 60 and some by 100. But the point is: they multiplied! Matthew 25 tells another well-known parable about a man who entrusted his finances to 3 trusted servants, according to their ability to manage them. To one, he gave 5 talents, to one he gave 2 and to one he entrusted 1. The first two doubled their investments, but the third guy kept his talent safe and did not multiply it. We know the story. The master was pleased with the ones who brought increase but rebuked the one who didn’t. Again, the point is multiplication.
Entire books have been written on this topic, but in context of you manifesting your miracle, I will only say this: It really is about stewardship and ever-increasing multiplication. Money is both something to be stewarded and is also a tool for stewardship of even greater wealth. If you engage with Wisdom, she will teach you principles that you can apply to bring increase to every area of your life and will help you discern what investments will truly bring increase. If you engage with Prudence, she will give you practical insight and foresight and will help you to apply Wisdom’s principles to specific situations… with the goal, of course, of multiplying all that the Father has entrusted to you. You have been given the opportunity to co-create with God. As you faithfully steward that opportunity, it will continually and exponentially expand and increase.
This is an excerpt from my book, Miracles Are Normal: Co-Creating Through Oneness With God. You can purchase paperback or digital copies from my website here: Miracles Are Normal. And you can purchase from Amazon here: Miracles Are Normal on Amazon
Until next time…
Virginia