Can You Smile at Your Future?

When you make the Lord your dwelling place amid life’s storms, you can rest confidently in His provision, smiling instead of fretting!

 

How Do You View the Future?

When you think of the future, how do you feel? Concerned? Fearful? Anxious? Or filled with excitement and hope?

It breaks my heart to see so many Christians wringing their hands in fear over the nation’s economy … or wars … or terrorism—when God offers us keys to live in victory despite any outward circumstance around us!

Smile at the Future

Instead of hanging our heads in despair or waiting for a bailout, we can model the amazing testimony of the faith-filled woman described in Proverbs 31:10–31:

Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she smiles at the future (v. 25).

Just as He did for this virtuous woman …

God wants to strengthen YOU, so you can SMILE at your future!

When you make the Lord your dwelling place amid life’s storms and shakings, you can rest confidently in His provision, smiling instead of fretting! The Scriptures promise: “A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you” (Psalm 91:7).

This means looking to God as your hope and source—not to the resources or news headlines of the world.

This woman was confident in God’s provision for her future, but that didn’t mean she sat idly by, waiting for a supernatural Harvest when she hadn’t planted anything! We’re told she had bought a field and “plants a vineyard” (Proverbs 31:16). And as the Lord had blessed her, she was determined to be a blessing to others: “She extends her hand to the poor, and she stretches out her hands to the needy” (v. 20).

When I read these verses, I can’t help but think of YOU! You have invested in the good ground of Inspiration Ministries, planting a “vineyard” with your financial seeds. You’ve extended your hand of blessing to lost and needy people around the world who desperately need to hear the life-changing message of Jesus Christ! And as God has blessed you, you have been a blessing to others (Genesis 12:2).

In the same way God blessed this woman in Proverbs 31, He promises to bless you abundantly because of your outreach to the least and the lost (Proverbs 19:17). He will pay you back for every seed you’ve sown—giving you an abundant and overflowing harvest (Luke 6:38)!

A Tale of Two Farmers

I once heard a story about two farmers facing hard times …

These two farmers—neighbors—looked out over their dry, dusty fields without much reason to hope. There’d been a drought the year before, and the money in the bank was nearly as dried up as the land in front of them.

But the coming year promised to be the worst yet. As another season of drought was predicted in the forecasts, both farmers turned their faces toward Heaven and asked God to send the rain.

Weeks passed. Still there was no rain. If asked, both of them would have said they had faith in God to answer their prayers.

Yet only one of the farmers did something. He climbed on his tractor … plowed his fields … and planted seeds.

In time, God answered the farmers’ prayers and sent the rain. But only one of these farmers reaped a harvest. Why? Because regardless of what he saw in the natural, he believed God would bless the seeds he planted in faith. He released the seeds from his hand, and God released the harvest in His hand.

In difficult economic times like these, it can be a real challenge to faithfully sow our financial seeds into God’s Kingdom. If we’re afraid of not having enough, we can be tempted to hold on to whatever we have.

But while the world’s economic system tells us to hoard, God’s economy tells us to give—letting go of our uncommon seeds by sowing bountifully into God’s Kingdom. Only then will we reap His blessings in our lives and be covered by His supernatural provision and protection. He only can multiply what we sow!

What Kind of Farmer Are You?

God wants you to walk in a loving, obedient, faith-filled relationship with Him—and then He wants to bless your finances, health, and relationships. He has seen the financial seeds you have faithfully sown into the good ground of this ministry. He wants to bless you with a miraculous harvest … the envy of those around you!

So take a step of faith today to trust God with your finances and your future. Boldly continue to sow financial seeds into His Kingdom, giving them a specific assignment for whatever you’re asking the Lord to do on your behalf. Wrap your seeds with faith and expectancy, then wait patiently for your harvest!

I’m convinced that wonderful things are ahead for you and for this ministry we share together. Since God is faithful, we can SMILE at the future—echoing the joyous celebration in Heaven because we’re bringing lost people to Jesus (Luke 15:7).

God Bless You!

David Cerullo

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