Bible & Possessions预览

RELEASING

Sometimes, the Lord will test our willingness to give up the very possession which is most important to us.

Will owned a large manufacturing company. Early one morning, Will was greeted at his office door by his plant manager, John. Without comment, John submitted his resignation, effective immediately. Will was devastated. For the past five years, he had been grooming John to become CEO of the company.

When he questioned John about his reasons for leaving, John refused to discuss them. Will couldn’t understand it. He paid John more than anyone else in the company, but nothing would change John’s mind. Will asked John to stay on long enough to hire and train a new plant manager, but John angrily refused. Since John had been such a good worker and friend, Will held a company going-away party and gave John a substantial severance bonus.

Three months later, John’s reasons for leaving became apparent. He had opened his own company and copied Will’s best-selling product! In time, John’s company grew, becoming Will’s leading competitor.

Some years later, Will learned that there was a design problem with one of John’s new products and that several lawsuits were being filed against John’s company. Will had forgiven John years before and prayed regularly for him.

He felt strongly that the Lord wanted him to reach out to John, so he bought one of John’s products, tested it, and discovered the problem. Then he told his engineers to find a way to fix it. After making and testing the necessary modifications, Will called John and told him how to solve his problem. John was so thankful, and the relationship was restored.

Following God and His principles could cost you something, as in Will’s case, but the joys of seeing God work in the lives of others is irresistible!

"Stewardship isn't a subcategory of the Christian life. Stewardship is the Christian life. After all, what is stewardship except that God has entrusted to us life, time, talents, money, possessions, family, and his grace? In each case, he evaluates how we regard what he has entrusted to us and what we do with it." Randy Alcorn

CHALLENGE

When we acknowledge God’s ownership, every decision becomes a spiritual decision. We no longer ask, “Lord, what do You want me to do with my property?” The question becomes, “Lord, what do You want me to do with Your property?”

The 30-day devotional book "Well Done!" helps us understand the impact of our decisions on eternity.