Beyond...

So there I was surrounded by brand new, but empty houses. It was a little surreal in light of a market that, up until a year ago, was on fire with demand. Yet, there I was, attempting to put together a deal to buy a distressed housing development. There are dozens of such properties, but it seems that something in the heavens had put this particular opportunity in my lap. (See yesterday's blog).

But without hard work, opportunity tends to slip through our fingers. So work I did. Taking pictures, making lists, asking questions, sending emails, and, perhaps most important of all, praying. I have found, after years of trying, that sometimes our best efforts without the blessing of God yield little, or bad fruit. That old Bible verse, "unless the Lord builds the house they that labor, labor in vain," has been part of my experience, which is what you get when you stub your toe...experience. LOL! So this deal, as well as several others that I am currently shepherding through one sort of process or another, has been bathed in prayer.

A friend told me today that it seemed that I was living "beyond my circumstances." This struck me as very profound, but I couldn't figure out why. This puzzled me for several hours this afternoon until, EUREKA!, I got it! That is FAITH. Faith is "living beyond one's circumstances." What a simple, profound explanation of faith. By all measures, I have no business trying to buy, or own large parcels of property. My checkbook would reflect that. But if I am living a life of "beyond," then my checkbook is not the issue. Somewhere in the Bible it says, (God) owns the cattle on a thousand hills." Hmmm, or for modern sensibilities, perhaps, "God owns the oil in a thousand wells," would make more sense. Regardless, He has the resources, all I need do is uncover them. Uncovering takes digging, not unlike finding oil...anybody know where I can find a shovel?

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the assurance of things not yet seen." Heb 11:1 or: Faith is living beyond your circumstances, knowing that God has all you need even when you can't see it.