Rev Pearl Kupe

Greetings beloved handmaidens of God and welcome to the second publication of this magazine.

With the rising food, fuel and electricity prices and escalating interest rate hikes in SA, the region and globally there is an increasing need to stretch the monetary value. According to the newly established South African National Credit Regulator, more than 6.3 million people in South Africa alone have a bad credit record amounting to over a trillion rands worth of debt. This represents almost 15% of the total South African population..

Both the Reserve Bank Governor, Tito Mboweni and the Minister of Finance, Trevor Manual have repeatedly called on the nation to “tighten their belts”. This “bad credit” trend is not limited to South Africa. Consumers all over the world seemed be facing the same challenges and in some countries like America, there is increasing talk of economic recession. The next few articles will be dealing with the issue of debt management and dedicated to sharing sound biblical principles combined with practical suggestions on how to successfully get out of and manage debt. If one looks at the economic climate prevailing in the region, the picture painted looks fairly gloomy in that we see that;

Petrol prices are estimated to close at over R10.00 per litre by the end of the year with additional increases for diesel and paraffin;
Electricity prices have increased dramatically after Eskoms application for an increase;
Prime interest rates have now increased to over 15% ;
Food prices have doubled in the past year, especially staple foods such as bread, milk, rice, oil and maize meal.;
Transportation costs will also be impacted by the increased petrol costs; and
Municipality/property rates are also projected to dramatically increase during this year

The picture painted above looks extremely gloomy and seems to offer little hope for the future but as Believers who serve a Mighty God, we need to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, who is the author and finisher of our faith. When we begin to recognize that it is Jesus and not Eskom, nor Pick ‘N Pay nor Shoprite Checkers, nor BP shell nor Engen, who holds our future in His hands, then we need not become victims of the abovementioned circumstances.

On Saturday 19 April, 2008, I was ministering at a Ladies meeting at Glory Divine Church pastured by Bishop Ryan. The theme of the meeting was “You don’t have to be a victim of circumstances, You can be a victor”. Becoming a victor, however is a matter of choice and involves a critical mindset change. You can decide to succumb to the worldly circumstances and wallow in a pit of self pity or you can determine to believe Gods infallible word and implement it. His word is truly quick and powerful and has inherent life transforming properties.

One biblical character who knew how to change his mindset and way of thinking was David, the man God described as being “after His own heart”. Our foundational text will be taken from the book of 1 Samuel 30:1-8. The scripture gives an account of David and his army of men who had been in the company of Achish. They returned to Ziklag where they had left their families, only to discover that the Amelekites had raided Ziklag, captured all the women, the young and old and burned all of Ziklag down. Upon making this discovery, the men who had accompanied David wanted to kill him by stoning him to death.

The two principles that I’d like to share with you from this portion of scripture appear below:

Verse 4 tells us that upon discovering the calamity that had befallen them at Ziklag, David and his men “..lifted their voices and wept”.

Beloveds, we can look at our financial woes and choose to have a giant “pity party” and cry over them. While it is good to have a good old fashioned cry every now and then, it will accomplish very little aside from depleting our strength. If we examine verse four of the quoted scripture it also tells us that David and his men wept until they had no more strength to weep. Weeping will accomplish little else aside from sapping our strength and energy. After the weeping, one needs to take positive and affirmative action. That action must be such as to bring back and even multiply the strength that has been depleted.

Verse 6 tells us that after weeping the next course of action that David took was to “encourage and strengthen himself in the Lord”. Beloveds, this is a key to achieving victory when the “chips appear to be are down”. David knew that the key to both recovery & victory lay in his ability to encourage himself in the Lord.

i) Forget about your status-Circumstances don’t listen to status and don’t care who you are. They listen only to those with authority and those who understand their identity in Christ Jesus

ii) Forget about your environment-It does’nt matter where you are, do what you have to do as the Spirit leads. If you need to dance like David danced, then do it. If you need to shout Praises to God, then do it. If the circumstance calls for you Forget about your dignity. To quote Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke, Dignity is not a fruit of the Holy Spirit so all efforts to maintain your dignity will amount to nothing. Focus on connecting with the Holy Ghost

iii) Worship God and proclaim His Lordship and ability-Declare Him to be Alpha & Omega over the situation, Jehovah Jireh, your Provider and the El Shaddai of the circumstance

iv) Speak to the circumstance-Command the circumstance to bow down to the Lordship of Jesus. The bible tells us that ever knee shall bow and every tongue must confess the Lordship of Jesus. That includes every uncircumsized and unauthorized financial

Let me close by reminding you that the choice to be a victor in challenging time remains firmly in your hands. Make the decision today to believe Gods word and to trust in His ability to provide for you!