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God Cares About the Little Things in Your Life

Gary Keesee • Nov 27, 2019

We were in a really tough spot. We were struggling just to afford groceries. At that time, a commercial kept coming on TV for a local fruit farm, and one of the things they kept advertising was their homemade apple butter. (I love apple butter!) I prayed, “L ord, I  would love to go get some apple butter, but we’re going to need your help getting even the basics this month.”

Two days later, I was shocked when a woman I didn’t know from church showed up on our doorstep with several bags of groceries. God providing for our basic needs was encouraging enough. But then, I unpacked the grocery bags. I couldn’t believe it when I got to the bottom of the second bag and found a jar of apple butter from the very same fruit farm that had been advertising on TV!

I sat in shock at the goodness of God, realizing He truly cares about the little things in our lives. It may sound silly, but that one experience changed my life. —T.B., Ohio

God cares about the little things in YOUR life .

He wants you to experience His Kingdom in your life.

And He will meet you right where you are.

For me, it happened through deer hunting.

Don’t stop reading if you don’t hunt.

Because these principles apply to every area of YOUR LIFE.

It was 27 years ago or so, and I had a young family to feed. Like T.B., we were struggling. I had a job, but we had gotten ourselves in a financial pit. Extra money was nonexistent. We could barely keep our heads above water.

We knew very little about the Kingdom of God back then. Sure, we knew a lot about church and the Bible. We had even gone to a “Bible college,” and we were members in a church. In fact, I was leading worship in my church.

But I didn’t know much about the Kingdom of God.

Now, when I say “Kingdom,” I’m referring to the laws that govern the Kingdom of God; I’m referring to how it functions.

See, every kingdom operates through government and using laws. God’s Kingdom is no different; its spiritual laws can be learned and applied to your life . 

When I say I didn’t know much about the Kingdom of God, I mean I had never learned those laws or even understood that I could learn them. I still thought, like most Christians do, that God does what He does because He is God, and no one can really be sure exactly what He will do or when He will do it.

I loved God, but I was broke and busted. I couldn’t even afford to buy a postage stamp. To make matters even worse, I was sick physically and emotionally and living totally in survival mode, always looking over my shoulder waiting for the next thing to go wrong.

But God had a plan to get my attention, and it involved a small thing—one of my passions—deer hunting .

See, I used to hunt with no success. In fact, I had hunted for several seasons and came up empty-handed. But one day the Lord spoke to me and said, Why don’t you trust Me for your deer this year?

Of course, I really didn’t know what that meant, but the Lord continued. He said, I want you to sow a financial seed for that deer and, when you sow that money toward the deer, call it done according to Mark 11:24.

Now, I knew Mark 11:24 said, “THEREFORE I TELL YOU, WHATEVER YOU ASK FOR IN PRAYER, BELIEVE THAT YOU HAVE RECEIVED IT, AND IT WILL BE YOURS.” So I wrote out a check and wrote on the bottom of it “for my buck.”

To make a long story short, that year I went out and bagged a six-point buck within just 40 minutes of being in the woods.

Of course, that caught my attention. But our minds always try to tell us that things could’ve happened by chance, like T.B. and the apple butter story.

I had to know for sure that God cares about the little things.

So the next year, I tried it again. I sowed specifically for my deer just as the Lord had instructed, and, again, I had my deer in less than 40 minutes. I did the same thing the next year with the same result. Now, I’ve been doing that—receiving my deer within 40 minutes of going out—for more than 27 years!

When I first saw this law of the Kingdom in action, I was shocked!

I knew that I had discovered something about the Kingdom of God and how it worked.

This law of the Kingdom in action proved that God cares about the little things in our lives.

Know this, friend: This principle of the Kingdom that God showed me for something “SMALL” like deer hunting, works for ANYTHING !

Using the principles that God taught us about His Kingdom, Drenda and I got completely out of debt in just a few short years, and we began to tell everyone we could about the laws of the Kingdom we were discovering.

God cares about YOU.

He wants you to experience His Kingdom in your life.

And He will meet you right where you are.

We see evidence of that throughout the Bible.

Peter is just one example.

You probably know the story. Peter had fished all night and caught nothing. We don’t know how many nights he had fished and come back to shore empty-handed. But Jesus met Peter right where he was that day.

I imagine Peter was feeling pretty tired and defeated when Jesus showed up and told him to let down his nets.

That’s when something shocking happened.

Peter caught SO many fish that his nets began to break and his boat began to sink.

That’s one heck of a catch! I imagine Peter didn’t even have time to think about what was happening because the weight of so many fish was straining the nets and causing his boat to nearly sink!

Frantically, he yelled out to his partners, James and John, who were on the shore, to bring a second boat and help him. And, as they helped Peter, their own boat became so full of fish that it was in danger of sinking too!

After the men made it back to shore with the tremendous catch, they stood in front of Jesus stunned at what had just happened.

They knew what they had just experienced wasn’t normal. God was clearly involved.

God cares about the little things in your life.

That’s the moment Jesus invited them to follow Him. And the Bible says they didn’t hesitate. They left their boats and nets and followed Jesus. On their own, the night before, they had fished and caught nothing. With Jesus on the scene, they saw something incredible happen.

Jesus met them where they were, and that one experience with the Kingdom of God changed the entire direction of their lives.

It just takes one experience with the Kingdom to change your life too!

Just like God used hunting to get my attention and demonstrate the principles of the Kingdom, or a simple jar of apple butter for T.B., or an incredible catch of fish to get Peter, James, and John’s attention and demonstrate the principles of the Kingdom, He will use situations in the natural realm to get YOUR attention and demonstrate the Kingdom of God to you in a real and tangible way too .

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There is so much more I want to share with you about this.

I want to help you learn what Drenda and I learned!

That’s why I wrote my first book, Faith Hunt , years ago.

Faith Hunt includes so many remarkable stories about the principles of the Kingdom of God and the impact they had on my life. Like the time the buck I knew was mine was heading in the wrong direction, directly away from me. As I sat there helpless, watching my harvest just walk away, the Lord spoke to me and said, Tell the deer to come to you .

What happened?

You need to read the rest of the story in Faith Hunt !

Faith Hunt is for everyone, not just for hunters ! It will teach you how to apply the principles of Kingdom faith to any area of your life.

Just as our lives were completely changed by the Kingdom, yours can be too!

It’s time for you to have an experience with the Kingdom that changes your life!

Plus, we just released the brand-new Your Faith Hunt 21-day Devotional and Prayer Journal !

Your Faith Hunt is loaded with remarkable stories submitted by friends of Faith Life Now who are experiencing the Kingdom in their own lives after applying the principles they learned from our teachings.

In just a few hours of reading, you can discover what took me years and years to learn!

Request your Faith Hunt book and the Your Faith Hunt 21-day Devotional and Prayer Journal today! You’ll be amazed by how quickly you can learn to put into operation these powerful principles of faith for every area of your life.

The Power of Choice: How to Choose Happiness in Every Situation

By Gary Keesee • 08 May, 2024
Reading Time 3 mins 43 secs – Are you happy right now? Or are you feeling a little grumpy, or negative, or sorry for yourself? We’ve all been there. Years ago, I had one of those months. Yes, I said months , not days. I was negative. I was feeling sorry for myself. The weight and pressures of life and certain situations were bearing down on me. For some reason, during that time, I went to a conference I really didn’t feel like going to, and the speaker got up and said he was going to talk about being thankful. Great , I thought. Just what I want to hear. What I really wanted was for someone to join me in my pity party. But that wasn’t happening. Because God knew that wasn’t what I needed. He knew I needed someone to tell me the truth. See, I had taken my eyes off of all of the blessings of God. I had stopped remembering all of the amazing times He had come through for me. I had taken my focus off of His promises and put it on my problems. That message was just what I needed. The Holy Spirit dealt with me right then about my heart and how I had been ungrateful. I had to repent. God set me free that day. Here’s the thing: studies show that when you’re happy and thankful , you have 17% more friends. When you’re happy, you live longer and you have less health problems like heart attacks, strokes, colds, the flu, and even pain. Being grateful also strengthens your emotions, makes you more optimistic and less self-centered, improves your sleep, increases your self-esteem and your energy, helps you bounce back after a setback, reduces feelings of envy, helps your marriage, makes you look better, and makes you more productive. Proverbs 17:22 (KJV) says, “ A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones .” See that? Happiness is like medicine. Discouragement sucks the life out of you. Are you reading this and thinking, “ Gary, you don’t know what I’m going through. I have serious problems” ? I understand. But here’s the thing: happiness is not circumstantial. Happiness is a choice you make. I hear it all the time… “Gary, you don’t understand. I hate my house.” Sell it. “Gary, you don’t get it. I hate my job.” Quit it. Find a new one. “Gary, I just hate my life.” CHANGE it. You’re not stuck. You have options. Every single day, you make choices to do something or NOT do something. And you have plenty of reasons to be happy. Stop thinking you can only be happy when everything seems “perfect.” Because “perfect” is really rare, and I do mean really rare. In fact, odds are there will always be something in your life that isn’t “perfect.” The good news is, no matter what you go through or deal with in life, you can still be thankful and happy, because you can always trust God despite your circumstances. Philippians 4:6 (NIV) says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God .” Wait. Did you see what that said? Notice it didn’t say, “Only be anxious about the big things you can’t handle on your own.” Nope. It says don’t be anxious about anything . It also says by prayer—and with thanksgiving —present your requests to God. That means you should be thanking Him for all He’s already done and for what He’s about to do in your situation. You should be thanking Him before your answer shows up, because He’s faithful and good. Look at Judges 20:19–25. There, we see the nation of Israel suffering great loss after a huge battle. They had lost 22,000 men. 22,000. Can you even imagine? I’m sure you’ll agree that that was a really bad day. Then, on the second day of battle, they lost 18,000 more men. 40,000 men lost in two days. The Bible tells us they took a day off at that point. They stopped and regrouped. Then, in verse 26, we see that the entire army presented offerings of thanksgiving to God. Things had gone really wrong, and they needed to remind themselves that God was for them, that He is good and faithful, that He was with them. And the next day, they went out and won the battle. So, what about you, friend? Do you need to stop? Do you need to take your mind off the negative and remind yourself that God is for you, that He is good and faithful, and that He is with you?

5 Steps to Release the Kingdom in Your Life

By Gary Keesee • 10 Apr, 2024
Reading Time 2 mins 13 secs – In John 6, we read the story of Jesus feeding 5,000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish. Do you know it? It’s where we see Jesus teaching the disciples how to release the Kingdom of God into the earth realm. Basically, a large crowd was following Jesus, listening to Him teach, and watching Him perform miracles. It got to a point where the people needed to eat, and Jesus asked the disciples what they planned to feed the people. Of course, Jesus knew the disciples would freak out. They couldn’t feed 5,000 people. In fact, they started talking about how it would take more than half a year’s wages to buy just a bite for that many people. Jesus was teaching the disciples, and He was teaching us— the Kingdom of God has all the answers you need . How can you release the Kingdom of God into your life? Here are the five steps Jesus took. 1. Look at what you have. Jesus asked the disciples what they had to feed the people. What do you have in your life that you can give God to work with? Jesus multiplied bread into bread and fish into fish. What do you need multiplied in your life? Find some of it. That’s your seed. Also, remember that money can be named. You don’t sow money to believe for more paper or digital money. Money represents your life and can be named to be the thing you need multiplied. 2. Make sure you’re in faith. “To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see” (Hebrews 11:1, GNT). You have to know how to judge whether or not you’re in faith. How? Do you have the right picture? When you close your eyes, what do you see? Do you see yourself with the thing you’re believing for? Can you defend your position? Why do you believe it? Prove it! Because you can be sure that between the “Amen” and the “There it is!” the enemy is going to contend for it, so you better be able to defend it. Do you have joy, expectancy, and peace? Are you in agreement with your spouse? 3. Confess over what you have, and release it in faith. Be specific. Say exactly what you’re believing for and release the seed to God. 4. Get the plan from God. Be ready for new direction, new ideas, and new concepts by revelation from the Holy Spirit. Carry a notepad and a pen. Write everything down. 5. Act quickly! When God gives you the plan, MOVE! It’s wise to have counselors and get wisdom, but you need to act swiftly on any direction you receive from the Holy Spirit.

Want Growth and Success? Here Are 10 Steps to Help Take You There

By Gary Keesee • 13 Mar, 2024
Reading Time 2 mins 34 secs – How can you make sure you’re equipped for the growth coming your way this year? Here are my 10 steps to posture yourself for opportunity and success. 1. Ask yourself how you’re handling your current responsibilities. Don’t run from your responsibilities. No matter where you are or what you’re doing, you should be a success. People will still see the evidence of God even if you think you’re in the wrong spot. 2. Detox your life of the things that keep you from having time to think. We live in a fast-paced world. There are plenty of things that can keep you distracted. But it’s in the moments that you stop to think that you’ll find ways to solve problems, and that’s where the opportunities are. So figure out what is consuming your time. Start saying no to some things. Find time to think. 3. Don’t hang around people who are always losing. I know people hit rough spots, but if the people in your life are chronically losing, it’s time to expand your circle. Hang around people who are better than you are, who don’t see things as impossible, and who have vision. It may be uncomfortable for you, but their influence will cause you to think differently. 4. Write down EVERY idea that you have, no matter how strange it seems. Most people filter opportunities and ideas through what they perceive their ability to be. This means most people discard ideas by the dozens because they don’t think they can do them. But God isn’t limited to what you know how to do. The ideas He gives you might seem so weird to you that you can’t process them fully. Write them down so you have time to think about them. 5. Research. Research. Repeat. You don’t need to know how to do something; you need to know how to learn how to do it. Research until you find what you’re looking for. 6. Count the cost before you jump. A lot of Christians hear God and jump out too soon, resulting in catastrophe. There are seasons for everything. God will prepare you for where He wants you to go. Be patient. 7. Always be in agreement with your spouse. Never, ever march out into battle without your spouse being in total agreement and your faith aligned. 8. Ask God for direction. Ask Him to help you, to show you where to go, and what to do. And always remember that prophecy from other people shouldn’t lead you; it should only confirm what God has already said to you. 9. Commit to never quit. Quitting is not an option. Once you’ve moved, don’t move again until God speaks to you. Stay with it. Walk it out. Don’t quit. So many people have so much potential, but they get uncomfortable and they quit. If you want to win, you should always be stretching. 10. Get ready to embrace bigger things. Your ability to see the big picture will keep growing as you change and grow on the inside. You’ll pick up on even more opportunities. For more principles, check out this FREE video on success.
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