Here’s a pattern that disturbs me when I see it in others, but especially when I see it in myself.

God will bless a man financially. Grateful, he becomes generous. But as he gets older, he starts to fret about how to protect and preserve his money and possessions. He gets worried that he might run out of money. He concludes he needs to take care of himself and his family – which of course is true.

But at some indistinguishable point cleverly disguised and made murky by the devil, he stops living by faith. He pulls up the drawbridge so no one else can get in. It would be like Noah closing up the ark before everyone could get on board because he was afraid he might run out of food. The flame of generosity gets doused.

The issue is where we put our faith. Is our faith in God, or what God has blessed us to possess? It is not a small distinction.

If anything at all from Scripture is crystal clear, it’s that God will graciously humble us when we exchange his truth for a lie, or his glory for an idol. It’s called “divine intervention.” Don’t let this happen to you!