Claiming the Windfall
A few years ago our name popped up when my sister-in-law searched the Treasury website for unclaimed property. She sent an email with the link for a form to fill out and wrote, “I don’t know how much it is…but I hope it is a windfall.” I hit some glitches while filling out the form and never got around to claiming my windfall.
God has given us a spiritual inheritance but perhaps like me you ran into glitches and failed to claim your riches. He never asks us to fill out forms in order to lay claim to our inheritance. We gain access to the windfall of God’s blessings by faith. Paul writes, “The righteous will life by faith.” (Romans 1:17) Living by faith means we take God at His word. His promises are like stepping stones that enable us to walk on water but they also protect us from the sinking sand of unbelief.
Unbelief keeps us wandering through trackless deserts instead of crossing into the land of abundance. It convinces us to camp where it is safe instead of risking an adventure into uncharted territory. Unbelief keeps us focused on past failures and veils new opportunities on the horizon. Fear seeps through the cracks of our hardened hearts and convinces us to remain camped on the river’s edge admiring the distant land of abundance but never eating its fruit. It robs us of courage which keeps us from persevering through the agony of defeat.
In his book, Conquering the Fear of Failure, Erwin Lutzer writes, “…to take the promises of God seriously is to declare war on the world, the flesh, and the devil. The minute we begin to seek God’s blessings, the forces of evil come out of hiding.” Like Joshua, we will encounter many disappointments as we face our giants. The evil one will oppose us at every turn but we don’t have to quit. Instead we can learn how to cling to God and trust His Word so we can move forward.
We can overcome any and every battle because God is with us and we can count on Him to teach us how to fight for what is ours. He tells us in the Book of Judges, “These are the nations the LORD left to test all those Israelites who had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan (He did this only to teach warfare to the descendants of the Israelites who had not had previous battle experience)…” (Judges 3:1-2)
God uses our fleshly temptations and struggles to teach us how to win our battles. The enemy comes out of hiding every time we dare to honestly face our issues, problems and hurdles but we don’t have to shrink back in defeat. Satan is a liar. He terrifies us by exaggerating the size of our giants and magnifying our weaknesses. His goal is to make us doubt God who is bigger than all our giants and strongest in our weaknesses. Satan wants to keep our names on the list of those with unclaimed property.
We claim God’s blessings for ourselves by claiming His promises and believing He will keep His word. I want to be a conqueror instead of a camper, don’t you? Let’s claim our windfall by grabbing hold of God’s promises and taking one small step of obedience through the smokescreen of deception today. Let’s keep our names off the list of those who have unclaimed property and live in the land of promise, enjoying the windfall of God’s riches.
What lie is Satan telling you? What fear holds you back? Which issues overwhelm you? Are there hurdles that hinder your walk? God’s words of encouragement for Joshua are for us today as we declare war on our giants and boldly stick our toes in the swirling waters of the river.
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”
(Joshua 1:9)
May God give us the victory today and when we get to the other side and claim our windfalls, let’s sound the trumpets and give Him all the glory!
My Hope Is In Him.