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"One evening back in about 1990 I met a guy in Malelane, in
Mpumalanga province and started talking to him. We did not have
a lot in common as I was a heavy drinker, while he was of sober
habits. I was a manager in the furniture retail industry and had
a lot of stress in my work. To rid myself of all the stress that
I had to handle at work every day, I spent my nights drinking myself
into a stupor at the local hotel every night.
During my conversation with this stranger he said that his Father
is giving him a brand new BMW within the following week. Me, always
having financial difficulties due to my bad habits then said: ""Typical
of you rich spoilt guys, whose fathers always give you everything
you ask for."" The guy sort of laughed at me and told
me that the contrary was true. As this statement of his fascinated
me, I then asked him to elaborate.
His explanation was that he is a committed Christian, and that his
Father that he was referring to was Jesus Christ our Lord. This
upset me as I was not a Christian and I abruptly and rudely ended
my conversation with him and went home where I had another drink
before I passed out and slept.
You, the reader, may now ask why I am telling you this bit from
my past and what the relevance of it is. To reply to that, I would
like to tell you a little bit about my very recent past. I have
been unemployed for 8 months now; my wife (Nanette) has been unemployed
for the same period. Nanette receives a disability grant from the
Government of about R1000-00 per month. Have you ever tried surviving
on R1000-00 per month when your Water and Lights account averages
between R370-00 to R500-00 per month? Combine this with the fact
that you live in a small town with two shops which are more expensive
than your average shop, and the nearest town with a Pick and Pay
or Shoprite is 80 Km away. How do you balance this budget? EASY!
With absolute full faith in Jesus Christ. In the last eight months,
we were never without electricity or water! Not one day did we go
to bed hungry! We live a normal life. We have cereals for breakfast,
a light lunch, and for dinner a plate of food with meat vegetables
and all the trimmings.
Not once in the past eight months did anybody feel sorry for us
and dropped groceries, or anything like that. What is more, our
car had two serious breakdowns in this time span, the last one being
the gearbox that stopped functioning. Anybody who knows a little
about vehicle maintenance costs will know that replacing a gearbox
is not a cheap exercise. As I sit here writing this, I do not have
R10-00 in my bank account. However, our grocery cupboards are full,
we have meat in the deep freezer, the car has a half tank of petrol
and had its gearbox replaced, and our electricity and water account
has been paid for about two months in advance!
Is it not wonderful what you can do with God as your Partner, Companion,
and Leader? We live according to the will of God. We thank Him in
prayer daily for even the smallest blessings in our lives. We also
have experienced, and believe with all our hearts, that God NEVER
closes a door behind you without opening an even better door in
front of you. Life is full of opportunities; it is what you make
of them that determine your future. Please believe me, whenever
things started looking at their worst, something came up, being
it a cheque in the mail a long overdue payment from a client, or
just a small token gift from someone you least expected it from.
God has worked great miracles in our lives, and not only on necessities!
On the 15th of February 2009, I had a dream. In this dream, I opened
my e-mail and there was an e-mail addressed to me from God. I read
the e-mail and the message from God was ""I am a God of
Abundance and Prosperity"". On waking up the next morning,
I immediately told Nanette about my dream. She told me to keep my
ears and eyes open as God is going to give us a great miracle that
day. Much later on the 16th of February 2009 as I was sitting in
the offices of the department of Education in Brits, in North West
Province, trying to sort out a matter with them, my phone rang.
I answered the call and to my surprise, DSTV informed me that we
have just won R15000-00 worth of Jewellery sponsored by Arthur Kaplan
Jewelers. This was a God given present, as we never had money for
luxuries such as jewellery.
So, going back to my friend way back in Malelane. Dear Brother,
I now know what you said to me way back, 19 years ago. I have met
your Father, Who now also is my Father. I have asked much of Him
in Faith, and He has given in abundance. Praise God! Faith is indeed
to believe in what you cannot see, just to be awestruck by the results.
Thank you Lord Jesus for the abundance and prosperity you have brought
into our lives!
""... I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have
it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows)"" John
10:10 (The Amplified Bible)"
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