Poverty is a choice

The gospel of Jesus Christ is a gospel of substitution. The lord Jesus took your place that you might take His place. He became the embodiment of sin, so that you might be made righteous  (2 Corinthians 5:21). He took upon Himself your sickness, disease and infirmity that you might be healthy and strong (1Peter 2:24). 2Corinthians 8:9 says that, “For you know the grace of our lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.”

You have to accept this truth because it’s all in the same transaction. The Lord Jesus, according to the gospel’s principle of substitution, was made poor so that you might be made rich. There are those who argue that His becoming poor was spiritual, but that doesn’t measure up. At no time did the Lord Jesus ever become poor spiritually, for He was the Son of God. In shielding His glory and condescending to this earth realm, He became poor to successfully translate us into the realm of wealth. You were born into limitless wealth; an inexhaustible inheritance has been laid up for you.

God’s idea is not to try and make you rich, for if you are born again, you have already been made rich.  He expects you now to reach out and help the needy. Refuse to be counted among the poor or the masses because you are the rich child of a rich God. He desires to see you enjoy the abundance that’s been laid up for you in Christ, and the way to enjoy your inheritance is by sticking with the word of God. His word is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them, which are sanctified (Acts20: 32). It’s an insult to God when you think you are poor. Poverty is a state of mind. Never think poor because you are not.

The story of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath in 1 Kings 17 is an emotional and touching one. The widow gave the prophet of God all that she had, which was a ration that was just enough to keep herself and her son alive. The woman’s faith moved Elijah to proclaim blessings of prosperity upon her (1 Kings 17:14). The little she had was multiplied and she didn’t lack through out the duration of the famine.

If only people would learn from this widow’s action, they would no longer need to look up to the government for prosperity. If the widow and her son had eaten the food, they would have died. But she was smart enough to recognise that true prosperity comes from the Lord. She acted her faith and gave all she had to the man of God and she got her miracle.  
To Be Continued…
Dr. Charles M. Godwin
City of Laugher
3, Toyin Street, Ikeja, Lagos.