Just Gisting

It’s another gist day and I hope and pray we will have a prosperous new week in Jesus name. I hope we are back from the weekend refreshed and renewed.

It’s no gainsaying that the economy is bad all over the world, but it appears that Nigeria where I come from and reside in, is the worst hit country of all. I don’t know how bad the economic recession is in other countries, but in Nigeria, the prices of goods and commodities have risen by about 300%. And to say that this harsh economy is not affecting marriages is to say the least.

Due to high job loss, a lot of families now have only one source of income and whichever of the couples is the major burden bearer will get cranky every now and then. It’s a situation whereby the spouse making and providing the money is grumbling just as the one collecting the money is also grumbling. Because I have experienced this situation personally I can tell you for free that I know how it feels and where it pinches.

When you speak to wives who now have to depend on their husbands for their source of livelihood, you will hear exactly the same complain; the money given by the husband is never enough whereas the husband says he is giving too much and the wife is mismanaging the funds. It gets very messy sometimes, while some are able to manage the situation better.

We have studied the Bible and many thoughts and secrets have been revealed with regards to marriage and finances. We understand that a wife of noble character is a hard working entrepreneur; we also understand that it is the responsibility of the man to provide for his family. But where is the business for the entrepreneurial wife of noble character, and where is the job that fetches income for a man to provide for his family? But we serve a God who causes the things that are seen to birth from the things that are not seen.

I want to dare ask that in these hard times when it is very hard to get a job from man, can you enroll in the workforce of the Almighty God? When I lost my job close to twelve years back, I thought my world was going to end. Times where hard then, and it seemed that all I tried to do to earn income met with a brick wall. In frustration and desperation I prayed and told God that since I couldn’t find a job with humans then I’ll apply to heaven.

Three years after I lost my job, from nowhere I developed an interest in writing; and I became a pen for the Lord. In order to kill boredom and get busy I began to write Christian articles; and then from short 8pages articles, I grew into writing books. Between the year 2008 and 2011, I wrote 6 books, all by the the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. And I am still waiting on God to help me market these books so I can earn income from them.

And in 2013 I discovered the blog and started writing what you now read from me almost on a daily basis. I started with just 3-4 blog write-ups per month and just last year, with the leading of the Holy-Spirit, I write almost every day. And when I am done writing and go through what I have penned down I am always convinced it didn’t come from me but from the Lord. I feel too ordinary to deliver what is being delivered on this blog almost daily.

The catch there is that up till now I don’t earn income, not from the books (because I am still struggling to get people to know them) and also not from this blog. But I don’t live in lack. For every of my need that I place before the Lord He makes provisions available for me by means that I almost can’t explain. The Lord has so used my husband for me and I am convinced that it can only be God. And though there is recession, I will only be an ingrate if I say God has not been more than enough for me. Since God has begun to use me, every day of my life has been a prayer answered. Once I ask, I receive. All I just need to do is pray about it. If I don't get answered, I understand that God has something better in store.

This is my message today; you might be experiencing recession in your earthly economy, but there is no recession with God. While there is massive job loss here on earth, God is seeking laborers in His workforce. Remember Jesus said that the harvest is full but the laborers are few. I don’t know what gift the Lord has deposited in you, but it’s time to stare up that gift and let it may way for you and place you before great and mighty men (Proverb18:16). Proverbs 10:3 says, “The Lord does not let the righteous go hungry, but he thwarts the craving of the wicked.”

I once heard a story of a young woman who lost her job; this definitely had its toll on the family's finances and was causing so much problems between her and her husband. In order to kill boredom she gave herself seriously into church activities. She was always attending the church activities that was announced in her church and then it dawned on her that she could actually be making snacks to sell after the church service. So she would make pastries and ice some drinks and put them in her car. These she sells after church service and it solved the problem of finance to an extent in her marriage.

But the big one came when she went on an outing with her husband who was a very top executive in his office and a well-respected member of their church. Members of the church who had enjoyed the delicacy of the woman’s pastry snacks and drinks commended her trade in the presence of her husband who never knew what the wife had to do to stop the never ending financial naggings in their home. The husband was very embarrassed by his wife’s petty trading given his reputation in the society and church. It was at that point that the husband resolved to set her up in big business.

This story reminds me of what the Bible says in Psalm 37:4 that, “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.” When you are tired of having endless arguments with your spouse over money issues, seek God; enroll in heaven's workforce and expend your time and energy for God. When those you see don’t need your services, God needs it. There is vacancy in the Kingdom of God and all you need to qualify is a divine relationship with Jesus. And note one thing, the reward is fantastic.