IT MAY NOT BE YOURS- DON'T ASSUME.

On a fateful day, during a period when we were trusting God for huge finances to execute programs and projects in the ministry, we received a "dangerous" bank alert.

The alert was over a million naira. Phew! The moment that alert came in, mentally, I began to plan how the money will be spent. The money met needs on ground.

However, I was reluctant to spend it because the name of the donor looked unfamiliar. I waited for someone to notify us about the money.

When I didn't get a response till afternoon, I assumed it was ours but that restraint was still there so I left it in our ministry's account.

Surprisingly, I checked my WhatsApp, the next thing I saw was a message from one of our ministry partners.

He told me he mistakenly sent his company's money to the ministry's account and he demanded a refund because he needed to pay another company.

After reading his message, it became clear to me why I had a restraint in my spirit about the money. I assured him about the refund and we did that the next day.

We refunded this money during a time of need in the ministry and we didn't subtract a penny from it. Not even the tithe. Maybe it was a test of some sort.

I heard about a preacher who experienced something similar. When they asked for a refund, he declined claiming the money has been used for evangelism. Maybe it was a test for me.

Not long after, a former classmate in the university got to know about our proposed program. She sent a message asking to know what remains in our budget.

I told her the exact amount that was left and requested she add more because inflation depreciated the initial value of our budget.

She sent the money gladly. It was a million naira and half of a million, a little above what was sent wrongly. That was more than enough for the program we needed money for. God provided our need miraculously.

Not everything that comes your way is yours. You need divine sensitivity to know that. Certain things are meant to be rejected so that what is yours can come in.

As a preacher, not all gifts are yours for collecting. If you take what is not yours for taking, you'll miss what is yours for collecting.

Dearest, some gifts are to buy your conscience and silence the voice of truth. If you know that person still has somethings to straighten out with God, that's not the time to collect gifts.

Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous ( Deuteronomy 16:19).

A wicked man taketh a gift out of the bosom to pervert the ways of judgment ( Proverbs 17:23).

Singles, that gift may not be yours. Some gifts will weaken your resolve for sexual purity and put you under the pressure of compromise.

Learn to say "No, thank you" in a polite way. Be conscious of whatever can comprise your values and principles.

Those that want to stay pure do not collect things anyhow. They are wise enough to know that not all gifts are for taking.

Satan attach strings to gifts to get you. That gift may not be yours, don't assume.