Glenda Green was a hustling machine. It’s been well over 20 years since I’ve seen her last, so I can’t speak to whether or not she’s still doing the doggone thang’, but my guess is that this sister is still making it work. We met each other in my junior year of college, at a time when my mom had gotten sick. She recovered, praise the Lord! But afterwards, money got seriously tight. If I wanted to reach the finish line, I’d have to come up with a solution to make it happen. The only problem was that I didn’t have a clue. Loans were already up the wazoo, and there was no way that I could place another burden on my family; not after everything they’d been through. I was beginning to think it was all over, but the Lord in His infinite wisdom sent Miss Glenda my way. It changed everything in my world.
A design student, Glenda was amazingly talented and resourceful. We took a class together and struck up a conversation one day. She told me about an idea she had and asked if I’d be interested in making some extra money. The timing was of course ridiculously on point, but her idea was a little iffy, I thought. It was honest and doable, but I didn’t think anyone would buy something that two college students put together. Glenda was positive and had confidence for days—two traits that I was lacking around that time. I decided to trust her idea, and after everything was said and done, we both made enough money to take care of our school debt for the semester.
It didn’t end there. We put our heads together on numerous projects and each time she taught me invaluable lessons about enterprising initiative, and using the talent God has given you to get out (and stay out) of a tight spot.
What I’ve learned over time is that there are two components necessary to go from broke to steadily making dem’ coins. The lesser one is practical, and the most prominent one is… you guessed it, spiritual. It stands to reason that before we move into the practical side of things, the spiritual has to be on lock. We can’t really move out in the authority of Christ until we get our minds right; we have to be on board with faith and our intention must be aligned with the Will of God.
With this being said, it is important to make a distinction between those that are destined to be captains of industries, and those of us that may not have ambitions so grand. God created each of us to reign in our own lives. He designed us with an ability to soar, and because of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, it is already imprinted in our makeup. In other words, contained within each of us is the blueprint for an empire. It was deposited within us by our Maker. You must believe this with every fiber of your being to manifest wealth and abundance in the natural realm. It doesn’t have to be a huge empire, but it is certainly one that will make sure you have all you need, and a little extra.
In Matthew 16:19 (NIV), Jesus Christ said, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” An overwhelming majority of us tend to underestimate the profoundness of this extraordinary verse. Most of us have heard it many times, but the impact hasn’t yet hit our consciousness. Any time we hear the word ‘key’, we should automatically think that there is a potential for something to be opened so that access is granted. This means that a portal exists where things can literally be transferred from one place to another, and a key will unlock the portal’s door.
Jesus Christ has given us the key. We have it! Our responsibility and privilege as followers and imitators of Christ is to unlock this door so that we can be a conduit to help others do the same. We can continually draw down blessings from a realm that has unlimited supply. This is how we introduce the culture of heaven into the earth’s realm. We are to impact it with the love of Christ. We can’t really do this without the full confidence that we’ve been given something of significance to get the job done.
You might not be all that interested in enterprise or pursuing a particular side gig that earns some extra dough, but understand that there’s an aspect of personal expansion and increase that we must have as spiritual people in Christ. There’s a side to turning seemingly nothing into something that extends to us a deeper understanding of the word ‘hope’. There are those that believe they are at the end of their ropes because they cannot see a way being made for them. The way is there. It is always there, but it takes spiritual vision to see it.
Spiritual vision is cultivated from the realization that just because we don’t yet see something with our natural eyes, it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist. At various times in my life, God has planted individuals in my path that open my eyes wider to the potentiality of what others have overlooked. He’ll do the same for you. God will help us to see profitable opportunities that are hidden to others, but there’s something that we can’t afford to miss, and it is this: our motivation to expand personally and financially must be anchored in our intention to be a blessing to as many as possible. This means you can’t be stingy or selfish. A person will never seek to increase in the way that God intends unless they are chiefly motivated by their desire and confidence to be a blessing to others. When your intention is to bless, God will do the rest.
We live in a time where one source of funds may not cut it anymore. You may need multiple streams of revenue to make your life as full as it should be. Those streams may not be huge amounts, but once you get them going, collectively they add up pretty quickly. Begin to think out of the box, and never allow yourself to think that you don’t have the talent, skill, or ability to make it work. You do! It came baked in your makeup. God said in His Word that He would reveal the hidden treasures to us. Talk to the Spirit about your ambitions, and ask him to help you take ownership of your own resourcefulness, so that you can tap into the right revenue streams for you, and make dem’ coins.■
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
“Multiple Ways to Make dem’ Coins” written by Reverend Fran Mack, edited by Kim Times for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2017. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.