Can you call fire down from heaven on people who steal from you?

My people are looking for a handout instead of a hand up.

Can you call fire down from heaven on people who steal from you? - Image

I feel like I keep getting to learn some hard lessons one after another. Praise the Lord He took me through a journey of seeing hard times as opportunities to level up.

Praying for Provision

I was praying the other day asking the Lord about writing and how to make all this work the best. I was feeling like it might be wrong to try to earn money by writing and sharing about what I'm learning in Jesus. I can only serve God or money, right? 

So I was asking the Lord, what should I do? If You only want me to write for free, if You are wanting this all to be donation based, just send me money. Like miraculously. I still have to eat, and I don't know how to multiply anything yet.

Immediately after Prayer

When I got done with praying, I had a message in my Facebook inbox from a guy who friended me some months back. I thought I knew him from my hip hop photography days, and he was friends with a number of other people I knew. So I accepted the friend request. Now months later he's messaging me.

"I'm getting generous, and I want to send you some money," he says.

Woah! Lord, are you answering my prayer already? Are you giving me the answer in this way by suddenly providing?

So I ask him, "hey man, did you get hacked? Are you just sending money out to people?"

He replies with a video of him saying it's legit, and it's actually him in the video. 

Okay, so now I'm thinking, this probably isn't a scam and the Lord has just placed it on his heart at the same time I'm seeking the Lord on this. So cool!

He asks me to send my cash app, so he can send me the money. Then I think to myself, can I get hacked this way? So I make sure my 2-Factor Authentications are on for everything.

I send it over. 

I'm looking all around the app trying to make sure I don't get scammed. It says I've got a $1000 receiving limit.

He sends me a screenshot of how the money is on the way. It's $3000! This can't be real. But maybe it is? 

"Lord, if this is your answer, this is a pretty amazing answer to my prayer!!"

Having just scoured the app for information to make sure I'd be safe. I know I've only got a $1000 sending limit. I tell him, it's not going to work. 

He says there are a few things I've got to do for it to be accepted. Then we walk through this whole process of buying Bitcoin in the cash app. 

Here's a tip: you can't get your money back when you send it to people via cryptocurrency. 

As we're going through the steps he gives me a Bitcoin address to send the money to. I have to verify my ID with Cash App and that ends up raising the limit to $4000. Okay, so maybe he's right on what he's telling me?

He sends me a screenshot of my account in the Cash App with the money saying it's being processed. However, the money still hasn't been sent to me, and he tells me I've got to send some to this Bitcoin address, and it'll show up in mine. Now I'm even more convinced something is fishy. But I press on. Even if I get scammed on this, I've learned how to use Bitcoin with the cash app. It's like going to school when I wasn't planning on it and paying for it.

And yes, I could have totally read the instructions on their website... I know... I know... :/

Anyway, we get to the end of the process, and he says he needs my email too. I double-check the 2FA, and then I get an email from him saying now I've been bumped up to receiving $5000, but it's holding because it needs $500 to release the funds to me. It's got big flashy spam indicators all over the place.

At this point, I tell him I can't do anything else. Please send my money back to me. At which he starts to get angry and tell me not to worry. Just do what he says, and it'll all work out. 

No, thanks. I'm done. Just send me the money back. 

He hasn't replied.

My money I sent is gone...

So what do I do?

This guy lied and stole from me. Peter took out Ananias and Sapphira for lying and stealing. The disciples asked to call down fire from heaven on some guys. Elijah ordered bears to attack a group of men who insulted him by calling him "baldy". Like dudes have been punished for less.

Yet, here we are on the weekend of the biggest injustice of all time. The One who wasn't guilty took the guilt of everyone upon Himself. With a wounded body, He carried His own cross. He paid with His own blood for all of our sins, sicknesses, diseases, pains, guilts, sorrow, and infirmities. He came to set us free from all the power of the enemy.

So what do I do? I remind myself of what Jesus did when Judas betrayed Him, when the people who said "Blessed be the One who comes in the name of the Lord" one week are now calling for His death. 

I pray for him. I bless him. I pray that he comes to Jesus. I pray that he is set free from all the power of the enemy. 

Please join me in praying for him to repent and find Jesus.

Lord, what happened?

I was seeking the Lord for what happened after all this happened. 

How did I miss this? 

I'm someone who says I hear the voice of the Lord, but why did it happen like this? Father, how did this happen right after I was asking you about this?

My people are looking for handouts instead of hand ups.

Then I heard it from Him. My people are looking for handouts instead of hand ups. I've blessed my people with every blessing in the spiritual places, but they ask me to just supernaturally send them money or resources. I want them to start asking me for ideas. Ways to build. Ways to make the world better. Ways to bless. Ways to be the light of the world. My people are the light of the world, but they walk around like orphans. My people should be the ones who are lifting people up, donating, and blessing. My people are the ones who should be raising people up. Helping those with broken hearts. Supplying the needs of the needy. So, ask Me for wisdom. Ask Me to give you ideas. Ask me how to be a person that gives others a hand up.

Woah..... 

I missed it, and I learned a valuable lesson. My mind immediately thought of all the people in the Bible who were the ones who were a blessing. They weren't looking for handouts. They were receiving wisdom, knowledge, and revelation on how to fulfill God's plan for their lives. 

Abraham was told to go to a new land. He was given a son in his old age. He had so many people working for him, he had his own army of men who were able to rescue his cousin Lot.

Jacob had a dream about how to change the colors of sheep to increase. He had grown enough to be able to send so many gifts to his brother on the way back home.

Joseph was given a dream on how to save an entire country, even the entire world! 

Moses received instructions on how to deliver the people, walk through water on dry ground, provide water from a rock, and even MANA from heaven. 

David was given instructions on how to do battle and prepare a temple. He even became king.

Over and over the people in the Old Testament were ones who worked and provided. They made things happen by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. 

They weren't looking for handouts.

Even in the New Testament, they gathered resources together to provide for the poor. They sold property, meaning they had it. Paul continued working with his hands even while serving in the ministry. At the end of Acts it even says he paid for the apartment out of his own funds. They even gathered resources to send back to Jerusalem to prepare for the famine that was coming. They were givers. They had resources by which to give to others.

The word even says the one who doesn't work doesn't eat. 

I learned a lot. 

After that the Lord said to me, "I needed a mind shift," and boy do I feel it. 

So that was really the answer I needed to what I asked earlier about writing. It's okay to create value and build things and receive money for good work done. The worker is worthy to receive the wages. 

Next Steps

Here are a few things to throw out there to wrap this up:

1. Watch out for scams. If you don't know someone for 100% sure, then don't send them any money. :/

2. Pray for this guy to be saved, receive Jesus, and turn from his sin.

3. If this article was helpful or just fun for you to read, feel free to send me a thank you on Venmo @BrianPrewitt.

4. Subscribe to my paid Substack to help me begin to work and provide value to people through my writing. 

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed the story!

What a journey. Lol