It’s Christmas Eve, and I’m working the night shift at Safe Harbor. After stuffing ten stockings (which the residents each decorated themselves during a self-care crafty night), I washed my face, brushed my teeth, and started to unwind. In the morning, we will have a lovely Christmas Breakfast and then open gifts, which have all been placed under the tree. We have amazing breakfast casseroles and cinnamon rolls for tomorrow morning, provided by champions of this ministry who also just so happen to be amazing bakers and cooks!
So, in many ways, I am in the same “Christmas mode” that everyone else is in tonight, thinking the same thoughts, enjoying the same sensations, tastes, smells, and sights of the season. Doing normal Christmas things. I might even eventually do some sleeping, and some dreaming about sugar plums. I will have to admit, though - I had to Google “sugar plums.” Who knew? They are actually a REAL thing.
So, while I have you here for Christmas Eve story time, I do have this other thing on my mind that I wanted to share. And it’s a little quirky and maybe a little sassy. You see, I have been thinking about money laundering.
In addition to the sugar plums and all other things “jolly,” I have been contemplating God’s heart for justice and healing for the oppressed, and I just wonder if His heart is to fight for the women of Safe Harbor by providing support in creative and poetic ways. For the past couple of months, I have been meditating on several concepts of Kingdom economics. I have basically been telling the people in my family and friend tribe that I want to see the people of God, the works of God, all of the faith-based non-profits in Clark County and beyond, all funded through abundant resources (not surprising, I know!). But I have been especially enthused about the possibility that God may want to fund His work in ways that I haven’t considered before.
This Christmas, even more than asking for simple “provision,” I realize I am longing for something deeper. My heart has begun beating for a different manifestation of justice. I am realizing how much I would LOVE to see some of our funding come from, well, let’s just say, “unconventional sources.”
What if our good, good Father wants to funnel the resources of the kingdom of darkness into HIS work? What if God is waiting for us to pray this way?
We are often bombarded by tragic stories about the enemy stealing from God’s children, killing the people we love, and destroying families in our communities. We need to face it - we have an adversary, and He is not lazy.
Please hear me - I’m not about to glorify the enemy’s work, because He has been stripped of all of his real power. Because of the finished work of Jesus, the devil has been paraded around, made into a spectacle, and he has been disempowered completely. The only way this “prosecutor” can get an upper hand in any situation and KEEP that upper hand is if we agree with his lies (He lies a lot) or if we simply fail to see that he is trespassing and we can step into the situation as people of authority. We can step in and SPEAK with authority, and PRAY with authority, until the enemy submits to a cease and desist order. Indeed, as royal sons and daughters, we are deputized, given all authority over all of the works of the enemy, filled with the Spirit to the point where “he that is in us is greater than he that is in the world.”
But the enemy IS relentless in his desire to undermine the Kingdom of God at every turn. And sometimes he doesn’t stop until we tell him to. Again, the enemy of our souls has no authority over us, and yet somehow he does run around in our lives trampling things that he has no business trampling on.
I am seeing this more and more - the enemy is the arch-enemy of all of God’s enterprises and mission in this world and he is often the culprit behind kingdom-work delay, financial loss, strain, and chaos. And sometimes it almost seems like God’s children are the ones who are getting the short end of the stick and having to struggle and defend and protect their assets from the enemy’s schemes. (I feel like I’m in good company - King David complained and lamented about this quite a bit in the Psalms).
So, WHAT IF we COULD see a huge shift in this trend and watch God seize the assets of the enemy, force the enemy to give back what He has stolen, and enjoy the spoils of some spiritual battles that we are actually WINNING! Wouldn’t that be amazing?
(NOTE: Yes, I want to still see hundreds of individual champions, churches, foundations, organizations…all supporting us through monthly donations large and small. I want to see God moving on the hearts of His people to give. So…don’t stop giving - it changes, stretches, and challenges you just as much as it helps us!)
But what would it look like if every kingdom ministry ALSO started to receive funding due to some kind of BREAKDOWN in the kingdom of darkness? What if trafficking funds and drug cartel busts and various forms of “dirty” seized assets started to boomerang into the lives of the people who need it the most? Well, that would simply be MIRACULOUS, wouldn’t it?
This concept is not completely crazy - I either dreamed it in a not-even-joking spiritual dream last month, or I actually did read a news article recently in which $200,000 in drug trafficking assets were seized and then donated to a non-profit working with at-risk populations. Either way, the idea was planted in my brain! :)
So, I’m starting to say this stuff out loud. I would love to see God our Father launder some money for ALL of us. (If you work for a non-profit in Clark County, I’m praying this over your mission too. I hope that’s OK!).
There are several examples in scripture which demonstrate God’s heart to provide for His children and even store up the riches of those who oppose Him to give to His kids.
One of my favorite scriptures along these lines is found in Proverbs 13:22:
The benevolent man leaves an inheritance that endures for his children’s children, but the wealth of the wicked is treasured up for the righteous.
Woo hoo! So there you have it - this is not a NEW or CRAZY idea - it’s entirely biblical to expect that God will always provide for the work of His kingdom. And it’s even within reason and completely biblical that we can pray for some VICTORY in 2018 in this realm and in the form of seized assets. Would you pray in agreement with us that we would see a huge dent made in the fabric of the “organized crime” and exploitation of women and children in our communities? Let’s pray for shocking and wonderful and sudden breakdowns in the biggest strongholds of oppression in our communities. And then let’s pray that money is funneled directly into the lives of survivors of trauma, trafficking, childhood abuse, domestic violence, and any form of exploitation and oppression.
Some sobering statistics:
HUMAN TRAFFICKING: Every year, human traffickers generate billions of dollars in profits by victimizing millions of people in the United States and around the world.
ILLEGAL DRUG SALES: Illegal drugs in the U.S. create a huge black market industry, an estimated $200-$750 billion a year.
So, it’s pretty clear that there’s money out there - there’s plenty of resources already, enough to fund every single kingdom organization under the sun.
Even as I am writing this, I am feeling stirred to pray specifically for one category of change to get us started in this new feisty way of praying, and this is something that we could begin to see immediately as we enter into a New Year. Would you join me - let’s ask God to deliver every BELIEVER who is bound to an addiction to pornography. Can you imagine how much the enemy would lose in assets, not to mention His ego, if suddenly there were a shift in the spiritual realm in this area? Let’s pray that every person we know who is spending money on pornography is radically delivered from this oppression, the compulsion, the shame, and the financial DRAIN in this relentless cycle. May they find help, and hope, and healing. May they experience great freedom and never turn back. And then, may they begin to search for organizations to support financially, organizations that serve at-risk populations, organizations that serve women who have been trafficked (there is a huge correlation between trafficking and pornography, as you know). May this money be shaken loose and sent flooding into the lives of the oppressed.
Lord Jesus, thwart the works of the enemy. Vanquish our foes. Send the enemy packing. And then send all of his assets into your work.
In the strong name of Jesus,
Amen
Merry Christmas, everyone!
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Amy Willmann
Executive Director
Safe Harbor House