I heard a man of God once say that the double portion (2 Kings 2:9) is great, but if God multiplies you, it’s better.
2 x 2 = 4, but what about 2 x one thousand? You know, God promised in Deuteronomy 1:11 that He would bless His people 1,000 fold if they were obedient to Him.
Obedience comes from the Latin, ab- audire, the basic meaning, of course, being “to hear.” St. Paul said, “faith comes by hearing, and hearing the Word of God.” (Romans 10:17) So, in a certain sense, obedience and faith are based on the same thing- hearing God. St. Faustyna Kowalska said in her Diary that the quickest way to holiness is to obey the voice of the Holy Spirit.
Yes, we want holiness- we want wholeness in mind, body and soul. It’s a wholeness that comes upon an entire life- the Hebrew word for peace being transliterated as shalom- fullness, wholeness. Salvation itself comes from the Greek sozo- “to make whole, nothing missing, to keep safe and sound, well in body and spirit and life.”
God wants people to be blessed and have a good life- so that they can help others. God told Abraham he was blessed to be a blessing to others. (Genesis 12:2) In the New Testament, St. John said, “concerning all things I make it my prayer that thou mayest proceed prosperously, and fare well as thy soul doth prosperously.” (3 John 1:2)
Pro-ceed- “to move forward.” In all things means just that- in every area of life. Jesus said, “I came that they might have life, and life abundantly.” (John 10:10) Emphasis on the might, as most people won’t put in the time and prayer that it takes to get there.
Recall the Jewish people in the desert- it took them 40 years, what would have taken 40 days because of their complaining and talking against God and Moses. Yet, Jesus only spent 40 days in the desert. He went in by the Holy Spirit, heard what He needed to from God, overcame the temptations and got out of there, moving forward into His ministry and destiny.
Let’s do the same.
In the classic movie, Where the Red Fern Grows, the young boy Billy Colman is portrayed as sitting on the shore of the river near the house, fishing with a long bamboo pole. As a young boy growing up in the Ozark Mountains, surely he would have caught many fish. Yet, you can only catch so much with one pole. Later, as the boy pursues his dream of becoming a “coon hunter” with two hound dogs, he makes enough money catching raccoons and making fur hats, that his family was able to move up out of poverty and move to the city.
His grandfather had taught him about “meeting God halfway.” Billy was praying and complaining that God hadn’t heard his prayer for two hound dogs, when his grandpa said he had to meet God halfway. He said, God could get a mind just to do it, but that wouldn’t be good for your character. So, Billy thought about it and thought about it and came up with a plan to work odd jobs until he would make enough money to buy two hound pups for himself. God would provide the work and bless the dream, but he had to do the work and move forward to actually follow his dream.
What do you believe is your dream, your destiny? God doesn’t want us fishing with a single pole, but rather a net- or maybe something totally new, like hunting with two hound dogs. He wants to bless His people, to MULTIPLY them a thousand fold. It is Scriptural that following the dreams God places in our hearts, and meeting Him halfway will yield the multiplication we need. “Faith without deeds is dead.” (James 2:26) We can pray all we want, but what are we gonna do about it!? It seems that God is waiting on our response.
Lord, we humbly pray that You show us the next step towards achieving the dreams You have for us, our destinies. Grant us the grace, the wisdom and revelation in Christ Jesus, by the Holy Spirit’s power.
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