investments in you!
I remember the day I woke up to Ishca, clear as day. It was a time in my life were I exhausted all that I could pour and was left with God asking me a question. “Do you know your worth?” From that moment my life changed and for once I made myself a priority. Can I give you a background on how this came to be? First, it started off with having the heart to serve, serve, serve. Since I’ve been born again, the Lord placed grace on my life to serve as a servant leader. Sometimes I forget how many things I’ve actually done while serving at local churches. I can’t honestly remember it all. With the hunger and fire to serve, over the decades I’ve learned to follow, lead and train people, while growing in my faith, understanding the power of team ministry, and much more! Also, it’s part of my make-up, one of my 5 strengths is developer, so I literally attract start up’s in businesses and ministries. I’m often a part of people’s firsts, God graced me with the capacity to help in that specific area, I love helping people! But…what if God in the midst of helping, tells you, you need boundaries, what about the things he personally wants me to steward over?
becoming a good steward
So…let’s go into this portion, Being a Good Steward. Being a good steward with your time, skills, gifts, and assignments has been deeply on my heart for the last 3-4 years. Even stronger this past Nov. of 2022, especially with my business! Investing in myself has truly revolutionized my life. When you’ve sowed the majority of your adulthood in others, dreams, visions, lives, churches, and organizations, you have to come to an understanding, you are worth the investment too! Use that same energy and invest in what God has given you! You have to be a good steward of what’s in YOU! Recently I’ve been led to read this scripture below.
Matthew 25:14-30 in the message version it’s titled “The Story About Investment.” It mentions…
“It’s also like a man going off on an extended trip. He called his servants together and delegated responsibilities. To one he gave five thousand dollars, to another two thousand, and to a third one thousand, depending on their abilities. Then he left. Right off, the first servant went to work and doubled his master’s investment. The second did the same. But the man with the single thousand dug a hole and carefully buried his master’s money.”
Matthew 25:14-18 MSG
When you read further along, it talks about those that have been good stewards of what was given to them and how they were given more talents! For the ones that didn’t, their talent was taken and given to the ones who were investing. But the thing that will have your hair standing up on your neck, later it says “They were thrown out in utter darkness!” The Bible mentions, the Master replies and says ” If you knew I was after the best, why did you do less than the lest?” My God, if that saying isn’t alarming I don’t know what is! I came to this realization, in my life. What is it that God has given me, that I have allowed myself, people, and circumstances to hinder me, from being a good steward? What is causing this? This internal investigation started when God asked me a simple question. “Do you know your worth?” After the initial question, I went into an incubator to question, what was I doing with my life? What areas do I need to heal from? And why am I not being a good steward of the many ideas and gifts he’s given me! I was at a place in life where I was groomed to believe that serving into your blue in the face was healthy. I found out later, it’s NOT! I say this all the time, “Even God rested!” Balance, boundaries, and wisdom are a few of the things that stops a person from burnout! I allowed that to happen because I didn’t have boundaries and was easily swindled by the mindset “If nobody does it, how is it gonna get done?” Or because of the giving heart that I have, just kept going and going and eventually was manipulated into exhausting myself way over the grace God allotted to me to serve at the time. When all your time, talents, gifting, and skills are being used for somebody else’s gain. Or are you truly being a good steward, if you haven’t personally invested in YOURSELF the way you’ve invested in others? Now serving unto the Lord, you’ll always be taken care of! I’m talking about when you’ve been investing in something or someone for years and years and haven’t stopped to notice, you’re not being a good steward of what he personally wants you to invest in. Time goes by and it’s years with those ideas, and talents on the shelf collecting dust!
what now?
Will that be your story? I hope it doesn’t! I’m glad it’s not part of my story, God placed a burden on my heart to INVEST in me, unapologetically! I started investing in my career, my small business started taking classes, gained a certification that would help me make more money, and changed jobs, you name it! Now at the time, I didn’t know this is what I started to do. I started to take my life seriously! Time waits on no one and I wasn’t gonna allow myself to just flow by. The fire was lit in me to become a good steward of my life and since that day forward, nobody but God get’s the Glory, how my life has changed and continues to evolve with the understanding of being a good steward over the life he’s given me! I’m still growing and gaining more wisdom in things God wants me to be a good steward of. I haven’t arrived in life and will continue to learn more and more as I grow older and maturer. There’s a lot more evolving and becoming taking place in my life now! I still get it wrong at times and still have to reflect on things, I’m like man I missed that lol! But thank God for his grace and mercy, what I will do is continue to run this race with the knowledge, and will continue to be a good steward of my life to the best ability!
reflective questions
- What are some things God has given you to invest in?
- Have you started it? Yes? Or why not?
- How do you relate to the scripture above?
Wow! What an amazing, transparent, and encouraging blog in stewardship and knowing your worth!
Thank you for your kind words, Nettie boo!💜