Tag: goals

The Great Investor

The Great Investor

by Nikki Rich Writes ♥ 3 Comments

“If you aren’t thinking about owning a stock for ten years, don’t even think about owning it for ten minutes.” – Warren Buffett

As twenty-somethings and beyond, most of us are aware of and even participate in investing. As a way to prepare for retirement or provide the beginnings or continuation of generational wealth within our families, investing is an option available to change the trajectory of our financial lives. Though the ins and outs of investing can sometimes be challenging to grasp or even pursue, the overall goal is simple: put your resources into something of value and reap the benefits of that investment at a later stage of maturity and/or increase. As many of us know, unfortunately, investing never really seems that easy or promising in practice. From stock market crashes to systematic hurdles that make investing, of any kind, difficult for many, we are not unfamiliar with the risks and potentially damaging losses we may encounter in the world of investing. With such uncertainty, it’s not surprising that people often abandon ship at the mere threat of failure. Knowing this, I was pleasantly surprised to find a quote by Warren Buffett that encouraged the opposite.

According to Buffett, one of the world’s most highly regarded billionaires, long term investing, even with the possibility of slower growth and/or seasons of volatility, is the true key to success. Those whom are patient and hold steady to their investments tend to fare better overtime than those who are actively buying and selling shares to minimize loss or maximize profits1. In fact, though research shows that stock values fluctuate in value year to year, the average stock market return (increase) for ten years is 9.2%2. For those interested in investing, does this full picture perspective help ease concerns regarding seasons of stagnancy and loss? Does this help you to buy and hold, even in potentially tumultuous times? If so, you’re in good company.

“‘Moses said to the Lord, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.” The Lord said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.” But Moses said, “Pardon your servant, Lord. Please send someone else.” Then the Lord’s anger burned against Moses and he said, “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and he will be glad to see you. You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do. He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him. But take this staff in your hand so you can perform the signs with it.””
‭‭Exodus‬ ‭4:10-17‬ ‭NIV‬‬

God calling Moses to lead His children out of Egypt reminds me, powerfully, of Buffett’s quote. Moses, the man who parted the Red Sea and led the Israelites out of Egypt by the power of God (Exodus 14), was also the man who couldn’t see pass his faults and fears. Moses, the one who brought down the Ten Commandments and shined so brightly with God’s glory that he had to wear a veil when around the Israelites (Exodus 34), was also the man who needed someone to speak for him because he couldn’t trust God enough to give him the ability. While Moses saw himself as unworthy and unequipped for this task, God saw the full picture. God knew the powerful things Moses would do, in His name, and continued to hold onto Moses even when Moses disqualified himself. If not for God’s wisdom, grace, and patience, characteristics of great investors, the plan to rescue the Israelites through Moses could have fallen apart.

But why? Why would God hold onto Moses instead of finding someone else more capable and willing? The answer, I believe, lies in a foundational practice of great investors: research. Any wise investor knows that it is important to do your homework on a company prior to actually investing in it. You must study its history, review its trends, see if its values align with yours, etc. As The Great Investor, God did His homework concerning Moses and knew He was best for the assignment. Before he was even born, God knew the life Moses would live (Exodus 2). God knew the threat on Moses’ life when he was an infant. He knew the juxtaposition of Moses’ Hebrew lineage and his Egyptian upbringing. He knew Moses’ feelings of helplessness and disappointment as he tried to help his fellow Hebrews and failed miserably. God knew that, on his own, Moses could not accomplish God’s will. God knew much more than that however. God knew that the heart of Moses, reverent and obedient, would be key in bringing and implementing God’s laws to His people. He knew that Moses’ unique ability to function in both worlds would be the key to delivering the Israelites out of Egypt and fulfilling the promise He gave to Abraham hundreds of years prior (Genesis 12). For all that Moses did or didn’t do right, God knew that Moses’ character and life experiences would be instrumental not only in the rescue of the Israelites but in God’s glory being displayed on the earth. God couldn’t let Moses’ limited view of himself, no matter how true it may have felt at that time, cause a disruption in God’s larger purpose.

“And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭1:6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

As with Moses, God has studied you too. God knows you, intimately, because He created you in His image and likeness (Genesis 1:27). Before you were even born, He knew you and called you for His purpose (Jeremiah 1:5). Factoring in every detail of your upbringing, fears, traumas, and self-perception, He is not blind to who you are and the hang ups you may have. Even still, He chooses you, wants you, and sees you as valuable. He sees you as worthy of the investment even when you can’t see it for yourself. Like Moses, unfortunately, these truths don’t always feel convincing. When you’ve seen yourself as stagnant, of minimal value, or even as a failure for so long, it’s hard to trust God’s narrative. I get that. I feel that. The process of unlearning and relearning who you really are will take time. Thankfully, as with Moses, God will provide you with resources to help you along the way.

When Moses continued to harp on his inabilities, God provided him with two things: Aaron and Moses’ staff. Aaron, Moses’ brother, was given the task of speaking to the people, as God commanded, until Moses had the confidence to speak on his own. Aaron stood in the gap to support Moses and show him how to walk in his own power. Are there any Aarons in your life currently? While your Aaron could be family, friends, mentors, or even therapists, I don’t want you to rule out the support of the Bible as well. Full of God’s promises and affirmations, let God’s confidence and love for you hold your hand as you work to believe it for yourself. Let the fact that God already sees you as perfect in Christ (Hebrews 10:14) provide rest from your perfectionist distress. Let His assurance that nothing you do or have done can separate you from His unyielding love (Romans 8:38-39) cause you to love yourself a little more each day. Let God’s overwhelming joy to have you back home after you’ve strayed away (Luke 15:20-24) give you a growing confidence to partner with God despite your past.

God also told Moses to use his staff to perform miracles that displayed God’s power. What’s already in your hand? What experiences, talents, dreams, or resources do you already have that could be used by God? This is not a time to compare yourself to the next person but to look within and recognize what about you provides the perfect vessel for God to accomplish His plan. It can be as small as an occasional hobby or something larger such as a testimony that has the ability to help someone else break free from their own bondage. Whatever it is, I ask you to commit it to God and watch Him use it in a miraculous way. My hope is that you will rest in knowing that when God calls you, He will commit to you. He is a long term investor. The Great Investor. Though the promise may be slow or even tumultuous at times, He promises to complete His work in and through you up until the final day. This is a promise God will certainly keep (Isaiah 55:11).

“When money realizes that it is in good hands, it wants to stay and multiply in those hands.” – Idowu Koyenikan

My plea is simple: don’t continue to fall victim to the lies that tell you there’s no redemption, healing, power, purpose, or worth left in you. The devil wants nothing more than for you to push away from Christ and succumb to a life less than your true calling. Everything about your story is powerful and purposeful, even if you can’t see it yet. God didn’t create you to walk through life broken and stagnant. He created you to mirror Him on the earth and to show His glory in your everyday life (1 Corinthians 10:31). I challenge you to let Him invest in you. Let Him use you, heal you, build you, and transform you. The sooner you accept His love and surrender to His work, the sooner you will begin to see your life as God does: purposeful, glorifying, and victory-filled. That’s God’s promise. That’s the glorious return on His investment. I can’t wait to see who you become.

We go from glory to glory3, twentysomethings ❤️

1 https://www.moolanomy.com/6344/buy-and-hold-advantages/

2 https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/average-stock-market-return

3 2 Corinthians 3:18

Grace to Grow

Grace to Grow

by Nikki Rich Writes ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

As we enter into 2019, full of hopes, aspirations, and plans, remember that our success has less to do with our personal effort and more to do with our alignment with God’s will. We often joke about those failed New Year’s resolutions to go to the gym or finally pursue a business venture, but at some point, we must tighten up and reach the goals ahead of us. Goals that push us closer to God and into the fullness of our purpose should be of utmost importance. From personal experience as well as hearing the testimonies of others, the main obstacles to taking those steps forward tend to be pride in our abilities or the magnification of our sin, causing those debilitating feelings of unworthiness. In both of these cases, God has a way of making the wrong right, if we’re willing to let Him lead. There’s probably no better example of this than Saul, later renamed Paul, a murderer turned apostle, and the writer of some of your favorite scriptures in the Bible.

Saul, for those who may not know, was a persecutor of those who believed in Jesus as our Savior. Saul led the orders to kill men and women who called on the name of Jesus and taught others about the healing powers of the Lord. On his way to Damascus, with the mission of arresting even more believers, Jesus stopped him in his tracks and confronted Saul about why he continued to persecute His Church (the believers). Telling Saul to continue onto Damascus, Saul got up only to find that he was blind. It was in Damascus that Jesus would perform the miracle that would forever turn Saul, the murderer and persecutor, into Paul, the apostle, the teacher, and the writer of the majority of the Bible. Jesus used Ananias, a disciple, to be the hands of this miracle.

““Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.””- Acts‬ ‭9:13-14‬ ‭NIV‬‬

When Jesus came to Ananias in a vision to tell him to meet Saul in Damascus and remove the blindness from his eyes, Ananias responded like most of us would. We often cannot see what God does and as a result, we focus on the faults in front of us, rather than the potential for growth that God graces us for. While Ananias knew Saul’s history of violence and hate for the followers of Christ, he humbled himself and took the step to be obedient and meet Saul for the miracle that would take place.

“But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.” – Acts‬ ‭9:15‬ ‭NIV‬‬

As beautiful as it is to see Ananias display not only obedience but also faith in the Word of God, it still doesn’t touch the beauty that was the Lord’s perspective of Saul. Despite his history, the same background that initially concerned Ananias to the point of questioning God’s command, Jesus saw Saul as a mighty man who would be perfect to preach to the Gentiles and show them the saving grace of God. This moment highlights the way God sees us. Even in our faults, our sins, and our hurts, we can still be used for God’s glory. It isn’t that we are perfect or need to be before God comes to us, but rather it’s about us recognizing that God has given us grace to grow up and get back in line. Will we accept the grace and make the change?

“Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. All those who heard him were astonished and asked, “Isn’t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?” Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah.” – Acts‬ ‭9:19-22‬ ‭NIV

As Saul demonstrates, once he humbled himself and let God lead his life, God was able to not only change Saul’s life around for the better but completely use his abilities, that were once for evil, to now be an example and proof for others that Jesus is Lord. Similarly, the same talent, ability, and personality that you possess can still be used to make you great for the Lord as well as be an example for those whose lives are attached to you. It is in your testimony, in your walk, and in your character that others will come to believe in the power and love of God (Matthew 5:16).

Moving forward, I pray that you all don’t count yourself out and settle for less than God’s best for you. When things get hard or you feel like you’re unworthy, remember that God can and will use anyone who is willing. I urge you to stay available and allow God’s grace to do its work in you. As you continue to grow and seek out His path for your life, remember to also reach out your hand and extended your grace to others, in obedience to God. It doesn’t matter if others seem unworthy or “bad”, continue to be a light and encourage others so that God can do His perfect work in them too. We all need to be our best this 2019!

floweroncross

Let’s reach a new level together, twenty somethings ❤️

You or Him?

You or Him?

by Nikki Rich Writes ♥ 5 Comments

I’ve been feeling uneasy. Fearing complacency and desiring a higher calling, I’ve come to God boldly with prayers for change, opportunities, and influence. I’ve asked God for financial increase, for mentors and coaches, and for new placements to make the most impact. Though I knew God was happy that I started to practice praying boldly, He didn’t want me to stop there. He challenged me with the simple question: What’s your motive?

The question took me aback. Was it necessary to have a motive? Weren’t my desires automatically going to be aligned to His will, because I sought after Him? As an example, let’s take my prayer for financial increase. I asked God to remove my student loan debt and to increase my salary so that I could pursue and acquire more than I was currently able to.  This wasn’t a malicious request. I had no desire to flex for Instagram or put others down for not having the finances I had (hoped to have). I simply wanted a relief from the weight of debt and bills on me. “That’s great and everything, but what do you need the money  for specifically?” He responded. As I thought about it, the only things that popped into my head were vacations, lack of stress, and more freedom. With God nowhere on the list,  I knew that my answer wasn’t enough.

“When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” – James 4:3

The ‘flex’ is one of our biggest enemies, today. Everybody posts their highlight reels. We’re flooded with pictures and stories about people traveling across the world. We’re informed about the latest person who quit their job to start a successful business. What we don’t see, at least not often, is the person who went out for a dream prematurely and fell flat on their face. We also rarely see the insecurity and fear that many people who post these highlights actually have. As it relates to motive, many of us find ourselves asking for or pursuing things for our own gain, for our own ego, to fulfill a drought in our life emotionally, or to follow the trends. How often do we, if ever, ask God what He wants us to do? Does God want you to start the business this year or does He want you to wait another year? Does God want you to spend your savings on vacations or does He want you to use it for a different purpose? Is flexing what God wants you to do or is He trying to mature you in the areas of humility and responsibility before bringing you a great opportunity? These are the things that we need to stop and think about. These are the things that matter most. Are we seeking alignment with God or are we here to run our own life?

After a few weeks, praying specifically about how God wanted to use my desires, I received the beginning of a breakthrough. I found myself in a situation where my gift of encouragement really shined through. As I helped someone I loved with their sadness and confusion about life, I suddenly began to receive visions about who I was and what I was supposed to be doing. After I got off the phone, I immediately took out a notebook and wrote down everything that came to me. The more I wrote, the more revelation I had. I began to see how other people around me played a role in my vision and how my desires for opportunity, mentoring, and finances fit in the puzzle. When I finally put the pen down, I smiled with excitement. Was this it?! Was I ready?! Was it time?! I knew God had answered my prayer and gave me His perspective on what it was I desired. Full of joy, my desire to reach that vision strengthened.

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may lift you up in due time.” – 1 Peter 5:6-7

There was a major problem, however. Though I received a glimpse of what would come from my life, I had no indication that it was time to pursue it. I couldn’t tell if I was ready for it or not. I wasn’t sure if things would line up as I stepped out on faith or if I had to have more preparation first? This standstill became extremely frustrating. While I don’t doubt God’s plan to give me a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11), the waiting required to see that plan is what’s difficult. How can I stay where I am when I’m fired up for the next thing? How does the puzzle come together when I don’t see any of the pieces on the table yet? These are the types of questions that feed the temptation to walk in front of God. These are the types of questions that bring motive back to the forefront. A wrong motive will have us ready to show out, ready to quit, or ready to tell everyone before it’s time. We may want to boast or brag or we may want to get out of the pressures that we are facing. If God tells us to trust Him through the process, no matter how difficult, murky, or time consuming it is, will we obey and wait for Him?

“Everything is possible for You. Take this cup from Me. Yet not what I will, but what You will.” – Mark 14:36

Jesus spoke these words before His impending crucifixion. No matter what He felt like doing, He still submitted to the will of God the Father and died for our salvation. While, thank God, nothing we have to wait for or endure is this difficult, the concept is still the same. Will we let God reign over our ideas of time, opportunity, and ability or will we overstep Him? Don’t let your rush to escape, flex, or even to do great work supersede the timing and instruction of God. He doesn’t make mistakes. Submission is difficult, painful, and frustrating but it builds character, strength, and faith. Hold on and stay in alignment.

It’s not always about you, twentysomethings.