*** This analogy may not be new. In fact, it could very well be overplayed at this point. Also, as this article progresses, you may find that the analogy (and what little knowledge I have in this field) can get away from me. I thank you in advance for your patience.
Life is one big investment. Each of us has our own stock portfolio. We all try our hardest to work with what we have and what we’ve been given. Some may have already made more than others, perhaps having caught the market at a great time, maybe having bought shares of stock of a promising recent public venture before its business fully skyrocketed.
I’m one of the average investors. I play it relatively safe—buying when stock prices are down (after a few more assurances, of course) and selling when stock prices are up. Then of course, there are those not-so-fruitful investments, which typically end in days of crying, moping, and chocolate gorging.
Now I don’t know if you’ve heard about stockbrokers. As per Merriam-Webster, a stockbroker is “someone whose job is to buy and sell shares of stock for other people.” Imagine that! There are people who’ve actually had the experience and have seemingly perfected the craft, almost as if having already developed a kind of sixth sense for the volatility of certain companies’ shares of stock (for whatever reason) or the stock market itself. Amazing, right?
But what if I tell you that there is a stockbroker who can actually foresee how our investments will do with every possible decision we make and every single circumstance that is yet to happen? What if I tell you that not only does that stockbroker have that supernatural ability but that he also cares about you and your security/ies?
I’m imagining that some of those responses are gonna be along the lines of:
“That is too good to be true!”
“Little girl, Santa is not real. I’m sorry.”
“What have you been smoking lately?”
(Extremes, I know. Hahaha!)
But yes, what—or Who, rather—I’m talking about does exist. I’m talking about God, the greatest stockbroker.
I don’t know your history. I don’t know where you are in your spiritual life. And I don’t mean to impose. But I do want to present the truth to you—the truth that God knows and God cares. The proof? It’s everywhere in the Bible (after all, we’ve all heard or read loosely somewhere a handful of times of His Word being referred to as the truth). You can also check out testimonies of several people from all over the world.
Proceeding from the truth mentioned above is yet another truth: the best investment you will ever make is in God Himself, in entrusting your portfolio to Him. Granted, there will be times when you think and feel like the exact opposite is true. It could be because of one of two reasons.
Nothing seems to be happening.
Like any kind of financial investment—whether short-term like time deposits (can take up to 90 days) or long-term like bonds (can mature in a year or beyond)—it takes time for you to reap the rewards.
It’s the same thing with God. Whatever we lay at His feet, He will surely trade in with something much greater than we could ever dream of. It is certain. But it’s gonna take time. God is about the process. He wants us to wait not just because we have to be patient. In that period of waiting, of seeming nothingness, God is there. Working. Molding our character. Preparing us for the blessings He has in store for us.
Things are going wrong.
So you’ve handed your portfolio over to the big G, but the next day, stock prices for one of your major investments have plummeted. Not only that but another company in which you also have some stake is in the middle of a buyout. And now you’re sitting in your living room feeling absolutely forked, perhaps kicking yourself for that decision to entrust your investments—your security, your life—to Someone who’s been telling you to wait.
I’ve been told that the Christian life is not hard but impossible. When you give your life up to Him and choose to trust Him, there is no guarantee that you won’t ever be hurt or frustrated (the same goes for the people you love and care about). But the good news is God is in control of everything.
He allows difficult things to happen so that He can show us how He can turn the bad into good, the impossible into possible, consequently strengthening our faith in Him. Sometimes He may allow pain to protect us from even greater pain with even greater consequences in the future. Or it could be an opportunity for us to experience His love—a love so great that our limited understanding couldn’t bear to grasp the depth, that can completely heal our heart from whatever has been ailing it (and perhaps hardened it as well), that can restore relationships that we thought were broken beyond repair.
With all that’s been said, we can gather the following truths: God is real, God knows all, God is in control, and God loves us and cares for us deeply. Now knowing this account of Him, don’t you want to experience all this for yourself, see if it’s true? Are you gonna trust in the greatest stockbroker?
Stay golden and God bless you!
0 Comments