One Dollar Eighteen Cents
"I don't know how you can do what you do." A few years into our processing journey and this statement is hanging in the air between my husband and a community leader. This isn't said in awe of Michael's profession. How is it you are so good at what you do?! It was accusatory. How can you take candy from a baby? It was job-shaming.
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Michael has thick skin. It takes a lot to embarrass him and to dissuade him. Rejection from strangers, who only see him as a solicitor coming to gobble up their time, is something he has grown accustomed to. But this remark came from a person who was not a stranger and whose voice in the community is to be an advocate for small business owners.
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One dollar and eighteen cents, that's how. Through the acceptance of this job opportunity, God provided Michael with our first client, a client whose business yielded us a whopping $1.18. I can't tell you how excited we were. This new client, with an established trade in the community, was willing to give their processing business to Michael! We were thrilled and we were $1.18 richer!
How can we do what we do? Yes 1.18 but also 1:18. Ephesians 1:18.
I'm proud of what I do. I'm a reputable person and I work for a reputable company. That was Michael's response. I give him a lot of credit because that is not what I would have said. Reputable means esteemed, trustworthy, acclaimed and favored. I love his answer because Ephesians, chapter 1, paints a beautiful picture that we are God's inheritance. We can be proud of who we are because of who we belong to. And as we learn more about the God to whom we belong through Christ Jesus, the greater confidence we have concerning our reputation in Christ Jesus.
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To fully grasp this concept you absolutely have to read the entire chapter 1 of Ephesians. Verses 1-2 "This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. I am writing to God's holy people in _______, who are faithful followers of Christ Jesus." Scripture reads Ephesus but go on and insert the name of your city or county in the blank.
Has someone recently shaken your confidence in your parenting, your work, your ministry or even your salvation? Ephesians chapter 1 says that because you are united with Christ, you are given every spiritual blessing, you are chosen, adopted, showered with kindness and wisdom; you are heirs. Your reputation in Christ Jesus never hangs in the balance of your next google review or the words of a community leader.
Chapter 1 goes on in verse 19, and I'm going to insert another blank. Fill it in with your own name or someone you know who is struggling. "I also pray, [_________] that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else - not only in this world but also in the world to come."
Four and half years later, we have seen that $1.18/month grow to $9.38/month from this one client. We are honored to still have their business. Even more of a privilege is to have walked alongside them to pray for their needs and to celebrate when God healed and provided for them. How can we do what we do? We do it in pursuit of the 9.38. Matthew 9:38.
"So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields."
Through this business that God called us into and equipped my husband for, we have been given a field within which our daily interactions can point to Him and glorify Him. This field is ours to work until God moves us on. That is how we do what we do.
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