By: Callie Mitchell, SAVED News International Correspondent — Last March, I shared about overcoming a spirit of poverty, a stronghold that is primarily about stealing away productivity and vision, through lies about impossibility and failure. From that point finances becomes a consequence, because if you don’t work, you don’t eat (2 Thes 3:10).
Even though Israel is regarded as a “Start-Up Nation,” a leader in business innovation; financially it is a very hard place to live. With high taxes, our cost of living is above the average dual-family income. Owning private property is extremely challenging to achieve when we are unable to save; yet a down payment on a home is 30%! A new car is taxed 100%, which in turn increases the cost of second hand vehicles as well. In our marriage, we have faced very real discouragement, that even though we live debt free, we might not ever achieve goals that were very normal in the States.
In the last article on this topic, I confessed to having made an agreement with a poverty spirit, because of the reasons above, along with dealing with a brain tumor, and not having local family support with the kids. I was sick, and exhausted, so dreams just seemed to hard achieve.
Repentance does not happen only in word, but also in action, and I have been diligently working on one of the dreams of my heart: writing and illustrating a children’s book! At present, I am nearly finished with the last illustration! It has not been an easy process, though. That lying poverty spirit tells me this is impossible to accomplish with small children because I simply do not have time to work. Recently, the Lord encouraged me from Revelation 3:7-13 in His word to the Church of Philadelphia. He reminds them that He has opened a door that no one can shut, and though they have little power, they have kept His word. It is their “patient endurance” through their circumstances that has given them the honors of the overcomer.
That one passage alone has been enough for me to keep pressing forward on this project, “enduring patiently” with the needs of my family while squeezing in time to work. Breaking free from poverty, my mindset has changed such that I value even small spaces of time to work, rather than complaining that I don’t have more time. Even 30 minutes is of great worth, because I do accomplish something and that provides motivation for the next day. As small as this sounds, this is overcoming poverty.
Interestingly, as I’ve taken authority over this poverty spirit in our home, the Lord made a way for us to purchase a car! He provided a better model for less money than what we were saving for!
Even if it seems you have “little power,” I want to encourage you to keep “patiently enduring” to see the dreams in your heart manifest in the Kingdom. My pastor says, “Even the snail made it to the ark.” Just keep moving! I am praying for you to overcome!
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