A MONEY MULTIPLICATION EXPERIMENT

What was the most comical thing you ever did as a child growing up? ​ I have always had a quiet and reserved demeanor since I was child. This often meant that on the surface, I appeared unassuming - however I often got away with a lot of childish shenanigans as most people often presumed that I couldn't be up to any. On one of these occasions, I had attempted to multiply money. I remember having a monetary need that wasn't forthcoming at the moment. What influenced my next line of action, I'm not quite certain. I suspect it to be a combination of Sunday school lessons at church combined with my mum's approach to pray about any and everything. I brought out my craft supplies, carefully cut out paper into the shape of money, put it into a box, prayed over it and kept it hidden for 3 days. Why I choose 3 days, I'm not sure right now; but it seemed at the time to be the perfect number to get my money multiplication (or rather creation) done. On the third day, I rushed with hopeful anticipation to my box. On opening it, you wouldn't believe what I found...

Paper, more white paper and much white paper in abundance - staring right back at me in the exact same way as I had packed it up a few days prior (Ah! Did you expect to see money? If yes, then keep reading - this piece is definitely for you)

As I recalled this incidence, my mind went back to the child-like faith Jesus once spoke about (Matthew 18:3). Indeed to experience God's kingdom, we must believe God absolutely - 100%, just like I completely had no doubt I was going to walk up to a box of money on the 3rd day. However, we also know that children don't inherit the estates (Galatians 4:1). That is why we have been admonished to "grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior - Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 3:18)

"I will say it like this. Think about a son who will one day receive what belongs to his father. While he is still a child, he is like a slave in the family. That is true, even though all his father's things really belong to him - Galatians 4:1 [EASY]"

In retrospect, I realized what was lacking in my epic money creation experiment. It was the fact that faith in God has an origin - the word of God (Romans 10:17). I could only believe for God to do what He has promised to do in His word. In this example, that was the difference between my expectation of divine providence versus the magic I thought was going to happen. The Bible describes God as our shepherd who has promised to meets our needs (Psalms 23:1, Philippians 4:19). He however did not promise to convert my paper into money. While I thought I had faith at the time, it was not based on the inspired word of God - I was simply "faithing amiss".

"Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ - Romans 10:17 [NIV]"

Since then, I have gotten around to reading my Bible and realizing that - "He who does not work, let him not eat" (2 Thessalonians 3:10). And although it is not the only means, work is one of the main provisions among others that God has made to supply our physical needs. Without this progressive growth in my understanding, I would keep wondering why my "faith" then did not produce my "miracle money". As I wrap up this story today, now will be a good time to reflect about any unanswered prayers and unfulfilled dreams/promises - are you truly putting faith in God, or are you attempting to create money like I did years ago? Let's keep the conversation going in the comments. What are your thoughts on this story? Have you been in any similar situation? How did you handle it?