If you’ve been following any of my recent posts, you’re probably aware that my husband and I are selling the property we’ve lived on for the past 21 years and buying a ranch. Interestingly, we have also been led to engage in three other real estate transactions at this same time.
One evening when I was talking with my husband, I remarked about the voluminous amount of paperwork the various transactions were generating, and explained how I had been at my desk all day long either creating, answering and disseminating emails, or communicating via phone and texts to keep the never-ending stream of paperwork moving along.
He commented that I was doing a good job of keeping everything organized and flowing smoothly. I thanked him of course, and then said, “But that’s what I do for a living. What I do in ministry is all about communication and dispensing information.” Then laughingly I added, “Well, supposing I actually got a paycheck for what I do, which I don’t.”
My husband, suddenly serious, said, “Oh, I think you’re getting a paycheck, alright. Just think about how we have been given the opportunity to buy this incredible ranch, and about all the miracles that we’ve been experiencing in recent weeks. I think the Lord is paying you back for all the years you’ve been pouring out for Him in ministry.”
As he finished speaking, I was struck by a physical witness. I explained to him how in my quiet time that morning, I had felt led to read Luke 6:38 (NKJV), which reads: “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” I told him that as I read this, I sensed the Lord saying, “It’s payback time.”
Payback in the natural sense involves the idea of financial return or reward, especially profit equal to the initial outlay of an investment—the activity of getting something back for money spent. On the flip side, payback can mean an act of retaliation, or revenge.
Friends, we have stepped into a season like none other I have ever experienced. For those who have been pouring out in secret—without compensation, recognition, counting the cost or holding back—get ready for increase. I hear the Lord saying, “The hidden things are coming to light. For those who have given in secret, it’s payback time” (Mark 4:22-25).
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Diane Lake is a writer, speaker and minister ordained with both Christian International and Generals International. Her articles are regularly featured on The Elijah List, as well as platforms like Charisma magazine, Charisma News, Intercessors For America and others. She and her husband, Allen, co-founded Starfire Ministries with a vision to see the kingdom established beyond the four walls of the traditional church. They host a podcast with Charisma Podcast Network, and serve as Church Mountain, Regional and Montana Coordinators for the Reformation Prayer Network, and as Media Mountain Leader/Facilitators for C.I.’s Culture Influencers.
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