September 19
Chasing the
Wrong Fortune
"Money gained in the wrong way disappears. But money gathered little by little grows."
Proverbs 13:11 (NIrV)
Rachel sat at the worn-out kitchen table, her fingers tracing the edges of the lottery ticket in front of her. It was the same ritual every week—scratch off the numbers, check them against the winning ones, and sigh as reality crashed down once again. Another loss. Another reminder that her life hadn’t changed overnight.
She had been playing for years, always telling herself that the next ticket could be the one. The one that would pay off her credit cards. The one that would move her out of her tiny apartment with the leaky faucet and broken heater. The one that would let her quit the dead-end job that drained her soul.
Rachel had prayed about it before. “Lord, if You let me win, I’ll be generous. I’ll give to charity. I’ll help my family.” But deep down, she knew she wasn’t fooling God. She wanted an escape, not a blessing.
One evening, she ran into her old friend, Denise, at the grocery store. They chatted in the checkout line, and Rachel admitted she was still playing the lottery. Denise smiled gently. “You know, I used to do the same thing. I thought money would fix everything. But then I started trusting God’s way instead of chasing quick wealth.”
Rachel frowned. “So what? You just gave up?”
Denise shook her head. “I started working hard, saving little by little, and trusting that God would provide—not through luck, but through faithfulness. It wasn’t overnight, but now I’m in a better place than I ever imagined.”
That night, Rachel sat in bed, staring at her latest losing ticket. Her heart ached with the truth. She had spent years waiting for life to change with a single moment instead of trusting God through the process.
She closed her eyes. “Lord, I’ve been chasing something that isn’t real. Help me to trust You instead of luck. Give me the strength to work, to be patient, and to believe that You have a better plan than any jackpot.”
The next morning, Rachel walked past the gas station where she usually bought her tickets. For the first time in years, she kept walking. She wasn’t looking for a shortcut anymore—she was ready to trust God for the long road ahead.
Prayer:
Dear Lord,
Forgive me for the times I have looked for an easy way out instead of trusting Your plan.
Help me to be faithful in the small things, knowing that You bless those who work with integrity and patience.
Teach me to trust in Your provision, to be content in the process, and to believe that Your ways are always better than my own.
In Jesus' name, Amen.
