Focus: Six Reasons For Lack!

Text: Dt.2:7

"For the LORD thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand: he knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness: these forty years the LORD thy God hath been with thee; thou hast lacked nothing."

One of the things that causes stress, anxiety, pain, frustration, and depression is lack. I have found about six reasons for lack in the Scripture, and I believe there could be more. Let me share them with you!

*Unteachable spirit

Solomon says, "Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth instruction: but he that regardeth reproof shall be honoured" (Prov.13:18). A lot of people are too proud to learn. Continuous rejection of knowledge keeps one perpetually poor or in lack. Knowledge is key to success. It requires a teachable spirit to learn and rise above lack and poverty.

*Indolence

Solomon says, "Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: So shall thy poverty come as one that travaileth; and thy want as an armed man" (Prov.24:33-34). James says the same thing only differently, "Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works" (Jam.2:17-18). 

God didn't make man to be lazy or idle. He infused the energy to make wealth into the man at creation. He was given the mandate to till the ground and dress the garden. In other words, man was created to be God's co-worker. Faith is not the same thing as indolence. We express our faith through our works. Believers are doers or workers. Idle faith is a poor faith.

*Ignorance

Solomon says, "And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches" (Prov.24:4). Prophet Hosea declares in the name of the Lord, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee…" (Hos.4:6). Being an ignoramus in a knowledge-filled world is poverty of the worst kind. 

Knowledge is a critical component of life. Knowledge and life are divinely bound together. God told Daniel that knowledge shall increase in the last days. Today, knowledge is everywhere around us and we can't afford to live in ignorance. Failure and poverty are, in one way or the other, the results of not knowing. Stupidity breeds suffering.

*Oppressing the poor 

Solomon says, "He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches, and he that giveth to the rich, shall surely come to want." Verse 22 of the same chapter says, "Rob not the poor, because he is poor: neither oppress the afflicted in the gate" (Prov.22:16,22). By treating the poor poorly we invite or expose ourselves to poverty. We must not be mean to people of no means. God feels bad when we treat others badly. He doesn't take lightly to a person treating another person with disdain. Be careful how you treat the have-nots!

*Misfortune

First Kings 17 tells us the story of the widow of Zarephath, who by reason of a national misfortune and an economic shortage, ran out of food, except for a "handful of meal in a barrel and a little oil in a cruse." There was a mighty drought in the land. Farmers could not go to their farms for lack of rainfall. Then, in the midst of her lack and the danger of imminent death by starvation, God instructed her to take care of Elijah the prophet. God set her up to pass a test. 

I pray you pass the test God is setting you up for. The woman could not understand the logic behind such a divine command, but she obeyed, and by being obedient to the voice of the Lord she had food throughout the period of famine. Obedience is always rewarding. You can give away your lack. You can give even while in need. Giving is the way of the kingdom of God, whether you have little or much.

*Withholding

Solomon says, "There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty. The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself. He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him: but blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it" (Prov.11:24-26). 

Stinginess attracts the curse of God and that of the people. You cannot lose or end in poverty by being generous. Hoarding does no one any good in this life. Let us develop a liberal heart and give generously to those in need. Solomon says, "He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack: but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse" (Prov.28:27).

God doesn't want us to be in lack. He is our Shepherd, and we shall not want for having him in our lives. Moses says to all Israel that God was bringing them to "a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass" (Dt.8:9). 

Let me say this to you: if you end up poor, don't blame God! 

Poverty is both a force and a choice. Choose wealth over wretchedness and determine to break free from the forces of poverty!

The Scripture says that in every labor there is profit. If you labor in vain, then find out the cause of it.

There's no lack in Christ. We don't need Christ and other things; we have all things in Christ. We collect from Christ as we connect to Him. He is our source and supplier.

by Bishop Moses E. Peter