What is the Cost?
For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Luke 14:28
Taking my eyes off God’s plan is quite foolish and costly.
Several years ago, we purchased some rental homes without looking at them close enough. We figured we could make a profit on them if we fixed them up and resold them.
First God chided me about buying something we hadn’t truly checked out thoroughly. Should you buy something without figuring the cost? What I couldn’t really see was how much it would truly cost to fix them. And we went into the deal with our son Joel, who really couldn’t afford these properties any more than we could. Finding ourselves and Joel struggling with the costs and backbreaking work, I saw I should have listened to God’s chiding spirit.
As we have worked and remodeled a great portion of the houses, we’re finding God’s greatest lessons.
Making mistakes, whether it be finances, faithfulness, or a myriad of other mistakes, teaches me. I find that the more difficult the task — the more it costs me and the harder I struggle to put things right to keep our heads above water — the more it teaches me . . . far more than all the things I get right.
Sometimes it is difficult to pay what must be paid. We’re trying to work our way out of the disaster so we might retire. At times, it is taxing, yet, it is a joy to fix up old houses, give them new life, seeing what they can be. For the moment, it also gives our sons a place to live.
At times, our new knowledge has exacted an awful price. Jesus knows that good things cost. After all, He paid the highest price anyone could pay. That is one lesson He has taught me well.
How can I not praise him for that gift? Praise God through your mistakes, for He teaches His children by them.
Anna Gregory lives in Macon, Illinois with her husband Dennis. She is the mother of five sons and fourteen grandchildren plus two. She is a devotional writer having written for the Secret Place, Pathways to God, Upper Room and Haven. She is the author of Searching for Charlie.
