In accounting, the term balancing the books means making up for a loss.
If an account is low, if there’s a deficit, when you balance the books, you
add revenue to even it out. To know how much the account is behind, you
have to first take all the losses, all the deficits, and total them up. Then
you know how much you need to add to balance it. One definition of
balancing the books is “to equalize, to experience no loss.” When the
books are balanced, nobody can tell there’s ever been a loss. There is no
deficit.
In the same way, God has promised that He will balance the books of
our lives. We all go through things that put us at a deficit—situations that
are unfair, a rough childhood, a friend who walks out on us, the loss of a
loved one. If nothing changed, we would be out of balance. We would go
through life with more loss, thinking, Too bad for me. I got the short end
of the stick. A young lady told me that she’s had six miscarriages and is
not able to carry a baby to term. With big tears running down her cheeks,
she said, “I don’t understand it. I want to have a baby so bad.” Life is not
always fair, but God is fair. He will add up all the losses, the
disappointments, the heartaches, and the tears, and He will pay you back.
In Hebrews 10, the writer notes that the people had endured a severe
time of suffering and persecution. Some of them have lost their homes
and some have been imprisoned. He encourages them by saying that the
time will come when they will be richly rewarded. He says, in essence,
“God is a just God. He will repay the compensation owed us. He will
settle the cases of His people.” God knows what you’re owed. You’re not
going to live in a deficit. You may go through seasons when you’re out of
balance—you have a disappointment, a loss, something that doesn’t make
sense—but don’t worry about it. Your time is coming. God is going to
settle your case. He’s seen every tear you’ve shed, every person who did
you wrong, every injustice, every dark place. Nobody else may know a
thing about it, but God knows. He’s not going to leave you out of
balance. You’re not going to end up in the red—lonely, disappointed, at a
disadvantage. That’s all temporary. The Creator of the universe is adding
up all the deficits. You may have been through things you don’t
understand, and you could easily be discouraged and feel sorry for
yourself. Instead, get your passion back. God is saying, “I’m about to
balance your books.” Compensation is coming, promotion is coming,
vindication is coming, healing is coming, blessing is coming.
Justice Is Coming
I can look back on my life and see times when God balanced my books.
When I was growing up, we had church in a small run-down building that
had been a feed store. It had spiderwebs and holes in the floor, and you
could sweep the feed through the cracks. We cleaned it up, and for
thirteen years we had services there. Over time that area of northeast
Houston went downhill and wasn’t kept up very well. My family lived
thirty minutes away from the church. Most of my schoolmates went to a
nearby neighborhood church. It was a beautiful, prestigious brick church,
with stained glass windows and a huge pipe organ. Some people
considered us second class, thinking, They can’t afford a nice place to
meet. They’re in that old run-down building. I would occasionally hear
them making fun of us, joking about our building. They were good
people, but they dismissed us, saw us as less than. In their book we were
not up to par.
Fast-forward thirty years and we’re no longer in a run-down wooden
building, because God has given us the Compaq Center—the premier
facility in our city, in the most prestigious part of town. That was God
balancing the books. That was God bringing justice. When I was growing
up, it never bothered me when I heard people make fun of our church. I
didn’t pay any attention to it. But God pays attention. He’s keeping track
of who’s trying to push you down, to discredit you, to make you look
small. He knows who’s talking behind your back. He’s adding up all the
deficits, and at the right time He’s going to balance your books.
God is going to pay you back not just for wrongs done to you, but
also for what your parents put up with, for injustices done to those who
went before you. My father never saw the level of influence that God has
blessed me with. I recognize that I’m reaping what he sowed. This is God
balancing the books in our family. There are people in your family line
who did the right thing but for whom the wrong thing happened. They
served, gave, and honored God, but they didn’t see total justice. Get
ready, because God is going to bless you, as He did me, to make up for
what should have been theirs. God is not going to leave your family
unbalanced. There will be times when you come into blessings that you
didn’t deserve, good breaks that you didn’t work for, open doors that
never should have opened. It wasn’t anything that you did; that was God
paying your family back what it was owed.
You’re Coming Out, and You Won’t Be Empty-Handed
This is what happened with the Israelites. For ten generations they had
been in slavery in Egypt. They were mistreated, taken advantage of,
forced to work long hours, given quotas that were impossible to meet.
After 430 years, God delivered them from slavery. Just the fact that they
were finally free and able to leave was a great miracle. But they didn’t
leave as broke, empty-handed slaves, with their heads hanging down in
shame. They had worked all that time without being paid. They were
owed a whole lot. God said, “All right, it’s time to balance the books.”
On their way out, God caused them to have favor with their captors—the
same people who had mistreated them, the same ones who had looked
down on them and made their lives miserable. Suddenly their captors had
a change of heart and gave them their gold, their silver, their jewels, and
their clothing. The Israelites left the dark place of slavery behind, pushing
wheelbarrows full of treasures. That was God balancing the books,
paying them back for those 430 years.
God sees every deficit, every wrong done to you and your family. He
knows what you’re owed. As with the Israelites, there will be a time
when He says, “Enough is enough. It’s time to balance the books.” He’s
promised that He’s going to compensate you. Quit worrying about who
did you wrong, what you didn’t get, who put you at a disadvantage, and
who’s not giving you the credit. God knows what happened, and He’s
saying, “It’s payback time. You’re coming out, and you won’t be empty-
handed, looked down upon, or seen as second class. You’re coming out
vindicated, promoted, respected, with abundance.” You’ll receive favor
that you don’t deserve, with blessings chasing you down. That’s the God
of justice compensating you with what you’re owed.
A young man told me about how he was raised in a negative
environment. His father hadn’t ever been in his life, and his mother was
never around, having plenty of issues of her own. He didn’t understand
why he’d been dealt this hand in life, and why he was put at such a
disadvantage. I told him what I’m telling you. Life may not be fair, but
God is fair. He knows what you’ve been through, and He’s going to make
it up to you. But here’s the key: you can’t go around with a chip on your
shoulder, thinking about what your mama and daddy didn’t give you.
God knows what they didn’t give you. If you’ll stay in faith, God will
balance your books. He’ll pay you back. God is a God of justice. If you
didn’t get much in a certain area, He’ll give you more in another area to
make up for it.
You may feel as though you were shortchanged as well—you didn’t
have a good childhood, or you’re dealing with a health issue, or your boss
hasn’t treated you fairly. The good news is, God sees what you’re owed.
He’s keeping the records. He may not be able to give you another
childhood or bring back a loved one whom you lost, but He can make the
rest of your life so rewarding, so fulfilling, that you don’t think about
what didn’t work out. Balancing the books means you’re not living in a
place of loss or deficit, always thinking about what you’re lacking and
how you’re at a disadvantage.
When my father went to be with the Lord in 1999, I lost one of my
best friends. I’d worked with him for seventeen years, and we’d traveled
the world together. But even though I miss my father today, even though
I’d love for him to be here, God has blessed me in so many other areas
that I’m not living from a place of deficit. For the first year or so, I was
unbalanced—that loss was heavy. But God began to bring new gifts out
of me, opened up new doors, and caused things to fall into place. What
was happening? He was balancing my books.
Payback Is Coming
Maybe somebody walked out of a relationship with you and broke your
heart. Don’t give up on life, and don’t go around bitter. God saw the hurt,
and He feels your pain. It’s not the end. You may be unbalanced right
now, the discouragement may be heavy, but the good news is, God is
going to balance your books. Payback is coming. Somebody better than
you imagined is coming your way. Maybe a dream didn’t work out, or
you didn’t get the scholarship, or you’re raising a special needs child and
never thought that would happen. Perhaps you received a medical report
that wasn’t good, and now you have to take another round of treatment.
In those tough times, those dark times when life doesn’t seem fair, you
have to keep reminding yourself that God is a God of justice. He knows
exactly what’s going on. You’re not going to live in a place of deficit. All
through the day, just say, “Father, I want to thank You that You’re
balancing my books. Lord, I believe payback is coming, restoration is
coming, healing is coming.” That attitude of faith is what allows God to
pay you back for what you’re owed. You’re not sitting around in self-
pity, blaming others and living discouraged. The hand you’ve been dealt
may not be fair, but it’s not a surprise to God. He already has a way to
settle your case. Every time you’re tempted to worry, just turn it around
and thank Him that payback is on the way, thank Him that you’re coming
into a place of no loss.
I talked to a lady who had been married for fourteen years and has
beautiful children. Life was good. But one day out of the blue her
husband told her that he was leaving her for another woman. She was
totally blindsided. She had been a stay-at-home mom and hadn’t been in
the workforce for over ten years. She didn’t know what she was going to
do or how she could provide for her children. A few weeks later, while
she was still numb, trying to take it all in, a former friend from high
school, whom she hadn’t talked to in twenty years, contacted her. This
woman said, “I’m starting a new business, and out of nowhere your name
came to mind. I’m wondering if you would be interested in being my
business partner.” Her friend had been very successful in other
businesses. The lady told how she was going through a divorce and didn’t
have any funds to invest in a business. Her friend said, “I don’t need any
money. I have all the funds necessary. I just want you to work with me.”
Their business took off, and today this lady is incredibly blessed. She has
plenty to take care of her family.
God knows how to balance your books. He didn’t promise that unfair
things wouldn’t happen to you, but He did promise He would compensate
you with what you’re owed. You’re not going to live in a deficit. He’s
going to settle your accounts. He’s already lined up the right people to
search you out. He can make things happen that you could never make
happen. You may have gone through a disappointment, a bad break, and
maybe somebody didn’t treat you right. Get ready. Payback is coming.
Vindication is on the way.
Nothing Goes Unnoticed
Back in chapter three, we considered a lady in the Old Testament named
Leah. She and her sister, Rachel, were both married to Jacob. Rachel was
far more beautiful, and Jacob didn’t give Leah much time and attention.
I’m sure that Leah felt as though she were not good enough, inferior, at a
disadvantage. She hadn’t gotten her sister’s looks. The Scripture says,
“When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, He enabled her to have
children, while Rachel was childless.” Leah went on to have six sons and
a daughter before Rachel was able to have a child. Having a son was a
big deal back in those days. God was saying, “Leah, because your
husband is not treating you right, because you didn’t get beautiful looks
like your sister, I’m going to balance your books and give you something
that causes Jacob to notice you. I’m going to enable you to have children
before your sister.”
What am I saying? God gives special favor to people at a
disadvantage. You may feel as though someone else got all the good
breaks—the good childhood, the good looks, the winning personality.
Don’t worry. Your time is coming. God has some advantages for you that
will cause you to stand out. You’re not going to live always in the
shadow of somebody more talented, more beautiful, or more successful.
God is going to cause you to shine. You’re going to excel, you’re going
to be known, you’re going to leave your mark. What you think you didn’t
get in looks, in personality, in education, or in your upbringing, God is
going to make it up to you. He’s going to balance your books.
As with Leah, when people don’t treat you right, when they look
down on you, dismiss you, and try to make you feel small, that doesn’t go
unnoticed. God sees every injustice, every wrong, every tear, every bad
break. The Scripture says that a sparrow doesn’t fall to the ground
without God’s knowing it. How much more does God see everything that
happens to you? When somebody does you wrong, God takes it
personally. You’re His child. He doesn’t sit back and say, “Too bad.
They shouldn’t treat them that way.” He goes to work much as we do as
parents if somebody mistreats our children. We may even go a little
overboard to make things right.
Once when our daughter, Alexandra, was four years old, I bought her
an ice cream cone. We walked outside the store and stopped to talk with
some friends. There were some other kids on the sidewalk, running
around and eating their ice cream. I noticed one little boy was playing
rough with everybody. I thought, You better watch out, because that’s my
little girl over there. Even though I was involved in a conversation, about
half of my attention was watching this other scene. As the kids were
running around, at one point the little boy bumped into Alexandra, and
she dropped her ice cream cone. He laughed and thought it was funny,
then he began to make fun of her because she didn’t have any ice cream.
Alexandra came straight over to me, knowing that I would make things
right. We went back into the store. Normally I would get her one scoop of
ice cream, but this time I said, “We’re going to get three scoops so you’ll
have more than anyone else.” She took her three-scoop cone, found that
little boy, and started waving it in front of him as though saying, “Look
what you did. You caused me to get three times what I had before!” That
little boy meant it for harm, but I meant it for good. That’s the way God
is. Somebody may have done you wrong, but stay in peace. God is going
to pay you back. He knows what you’re owed. God never brings you out
the same. He always makes the enemy pay. He’ll bring you out better.
Your Enemies Will End Up Shaking Your Hand
The prophet Isaiah said, “Because you got a double dose of trouble, your
inheritance in the land will be double, and your joy will go on forever.”
Don’t complain about the trouble; that difficulty set you up for double.
That bad break and disappointment may look like a setback, but really it
was a setup for God to show out in a new way. He’s about to balance
some books. When there are people in your life who have been against
you, some of them for years, and have tried to hold you down, make you
look bad, discredit you—things are about to change. God is going to
cause them to see you in a new light. He’s going to cause them to
recognize His blessing on your life to a point where they treat you with
the respect and honor you deserve.
When the Israelites were stuck in the darkness of slavery, Moses told
Pharaoh again and again to let God’s people go, but Pharaoh wouldn’t
listen. He didn’t respect Moses. He thought, Who are you to tell me what
to do? I’m the Pharaoh. I’m a world leader. I have the royal robe on. I
live in the palace. You’re a shepherd. You don’t have any credentials.
You’re not successful, you live out in the desert, and you look as though
you’ve been wearing the same clothes for forty years. You’re nothing
compared to me. He dismissed Moses as second class. This happened
over and over. Every time Moses went back to tell him another plague
was coming, Pharaoh didn’t pay any attention to him. He thought, Here
comes that crazy Moses trying to tell me what to do again. What’s
interesting is that after the last plague, when Pharaoh finally decided to
let the Hebrew people go, not only did the Egyptians give the Israelites
their gold and silver, but Pharaoh said, “Moses, take all your flocks and
herds, as you have said, and go, and ask your God to bless me also.”
Instead of making fun of Moses, instead of seeing him as not good
enough, now Pharaoh recognized the hand of God on Moses. He saw the
anointing and felt the power to where he asked Moses to bless him!
Part of God’s balancing your books is that people who didn’t respect
you, who dismissed you, and who discredited you are going to have a
change of heart and ask for your blessing. They’re going to recognize the
favor on your life. The Scripture says, “God can turn the heart of a king
wherever
He wishes.” God knows how to change people. You don’t have to
play up to them, or try to convince them to like you, or let them control
and manipulate you in order to try to win their favor. No, walk in your
anointing. Run your own race, always honoring God with excellence and
integrity. God will turn the hearts of those who are against you. It may
not happen overnight. It may take years, but God will balance your
books. As Moses did, you will see a day when the person who
disrespected you the most, the Pharaoh who wouldn’t give you the time
of day and who wouldn’t bother to even look at you, will ask for your
blessing. Proverbs says, “When a man’s ways please the Lord, He makes
even his enemies to be at peace with him.” Don’t get upset when people
try to belittle you, push you down, or act disrespectful. Just keep
honoring God, and one day they’ll ask for your blessing. One paraphrase
says, “Your enemies will end up shaking your hand.”
One Sunday I met a man after the service who was a pastor in
another state. He told me he had been our biggest critic and used to tell
his congregation not to watch our services on television. He was very
outspoken and wrote articles against us. But a couple of years ago he
went through a major health crisis and had to give up his church. He
didn’t know if he was going to live through it. One night while he was
flipping through the channels, he came across our program, and he said
that for the first time he really watched it closely. He said, “Joel, I haven’t
turned you off since. Now I’m your biggest supporter. I tell everybody
about you. You helped me get through the most difficult time in my life.”
He gave me a big hug and said, “Will you pray for me?” That’s what the
Scripture says. When you honor God, one day your enemies will end up
shaking your hand. God knows how to make the people who are against
you need what you have. Instead of knocking you, they’ll support you.
Balancing the Books Requires Extending Your Blessing
In the Scripture, a man named Saul was the biggest enemy of the early
church. He went around having believers arrested and put in jail. Nobody
was more opposed to the followers of Christ than he. When the high
priest and Sanhedrin stoned Stephen to death for preaching about Jesus,
Saul was standing right there giving his approval. One day Saul was
headed toward Damascus with letters in hand authorizing him to arrest
believers. But in the middle of the journey, a bright light from heaven
flashed around him, he fell to the ground, and when he opened his eyes
he could see nothing. He was blind. The men traveling with him led him
by the hand to Damascus. For three days he was so distraught he went
without food and water.
Meanwhile, in Damascus, a believer named Ananias saw a vision in
which the Lord told him to go to the house where Saul was staying and
place his hands on him to restore his sight. Ananias went and prayed for
him, and Saul could see again. Notice what God did. Saul is sitting there
blind, and now the one person who has the answer to his prayer is one of
the Christian disciples he came to arrest. Saul had been Ananias’s biggest
critic and would have gladly had him imprisoned and even put to death,
but now he needed what Ananias had. Instead of wanting to persecute
Ananias, I’m sure that Saul had been praying, “Lord Jesus, please send
one of Your believers to come and pray for me. I am willing to follow
You, but I don’t know what to do.”
You may have people like Saul in your life who have been against
you for years. They may not be that menacing or vocal, but they’re
condescending toward you and treat you as though you’re less than.
Don’t worry. Payback is coming. God is your vindicator. Keep taking the
high road, keep doing the right thing, and one day they’ll need what you
have. They’ll come to you in humility, asking for your help, your
blessing, your favor.
When the Lord told Ananias in the vision to go and pray for Saul, he
could have responded, “God, I’ve heard all about this guy and all the
harm he’s done to Your people in Jerusalem. Do You realize who he is?
This is a setup. He’s going to arrest me.” God said, “No, it’s not what you
think. Things have changed. I’m going to use Saul in a great way.”
Ananias went and prayed for his biggest enemy. He did good to
somebody who had spent years doing bad to his fellow believers. This is
a test we all have to pass. Will you be good to that Saul in your life when
he needs what you have? Will you show him favor even though he hasn’t
treated you right, even though he’s tried to make you look bad? If you
want God to balance your books, you have to be the bigger person and
bless those who have cursed you. In their time of need, don’t withhold
your help. Don’t say, “Too bad for you, Saul. I’m glad you’re blind. You
deserve it. Now maybe you’ll leave us alone.” No, do good to those who
persecute you. Ananias walked into the house and said, “Brother Saul.”
He called his main enemy a brother and treated him as his friend. After he
prayed, Saul could once again see. Saul went on to become the apostle
Paul, who wrote about half the books of the New Testament.
Your Time Is Coming
When people come against us and say things that are not true, it’s easy to
get frustrated and try to straighten them out and prove to them who we
are. But don’t waste your emotional energy on the Sauls in your life. Wait
for God to do it His way. He sees every injustice, every negative word,
and He’s adding up all the deficits, all the wrongs. At the right time, He’ll
make things happen that you could never make happen. He’ll cause them
to need what you have.
Friend, your time is coming. You’re not going to live in a deficit.
You may have had some bad breaks, gone through things you don’t
understand. Take heart. The God of justice is saying, “It’s payback time.”
I believe and declare God is going to balance your books. He’s going to
turn the darkest of situations around. He’s going to open new doors of
opportunity. Promotion is coming, vindication is coming. Because you
honor Him, even your enemies are going to be at peace with you.
BLESSED IN THE DARKNESS 