SPECIAL FEATURE - Understanding the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, And Economic Security Act
Dan Pilla • April 28, 2020
Critical Help for Individuals and Businesses
On March 27, President Trump signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. This is a massive stimulus package designed to mitigate the horrific economic damage inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill provides for about $2.2 trillion in spending, cash rebates and loans to businesses intended to help keep them afloat during this time of unprecedented upheaval to our social and economic culture.
In addition to providing loans (some forgivable, as discussed below), the package provides money for the IRS to carry out new administrative duties under the law. The IRS’s funding looks approximately like this:
• $293.5 million for IRS taxpayer services,
• $170 million for IRS operations support,
• $78.7 million for the Treasury Department’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service,
• $38 million for the Social Security Administration, and
• $37.2 million for IRS enforcement.
Let’s examine some of the key elements of CARES as it relates to individuals and businesses.
Economic Impact Payments
The Centerpiece of CARES
The centerpiece of CARES is the so-called “economic impact payment” that will be handed out to most Americans. This combination stimulus/relief payment is intended to provide families with immediate cash to hold them over while businesses are closed because of the “stay-at-home” orders in effect throughout the nation.
The IRS stated on March 30 that the distribution of checks will begin by mid-April, and as of this writing, money is being deposited into bank accounts. It is estimated that 165 million people, or 93% of all tax return filers, will get some cash. About 140 million will get the full amount of $1,200. The payment is actually considered a credit against your 2020 income tax liability. As such, it is not subject to being taxed. Even if you don’t owe taxes, you could get cash because the pay-ment is considered a “refundable” credit. As such, it’s treated just like the Earned Income Tax Credit.
You must have a Social Security number to get paid. That includes the SSN of the taxpayer and his spouse, and the SSNs of any dependents. Without a valid SSN, you will not receive a payment. See: new code §6428(g).Here’s what you can expect in the way of payment. If your adjusted gross income (AGI) is less than $75,000 for a single person, or $150,000 for a married couple filing jointly, you’ll get $1,200 per individual. Plus, you get an additional $500 for each child under 17. A family of four will get a check for $3,400. There is no limit to the number of children to which the $500 applies. See new code §6428(d).If your AGI exceeds the above amounts, the credit is phased out. Under the phase-out rules, the credit is gradually reduced to zero by the point at which AGI exceeds $99,000 for individuals, $146,500 for heads of household, or $198,000 for joint filers.
The rebate is based on your 2019 tax return or your 2019 Social Security statement, if Social Security is your only income. If you haven’t yet filed the 2019 return, the rebate is based on your 2018 return. As you know from last month’s Pilla Talks Taxes, the filing deadline for 2019 returns is moved to July 15, 2020 (see my update on this article below). The best bet is to get the return filed as soon as possible, especially if your 2019 income is lower than 2018 such as to impact the amount of the rebate you’re entitled to. The IRS will process the rebate checks through the end of 2020.
The IRS intends to deliver the checks via direct deposit. They will put the money in the account indicated on the tax return to which the tax refund payment was made. If no bank account information was provided, you should provide that information to the IRS to get your money as fast as possible. The has a portal on its web site al-lowing individuals to provide their current bank account information. If there simply is no bank account available, the IRS will mail you a check.
If you filed neither your 2018 tax return, nor your 2019 return, you need to get busy. It appears that you will not get a rebate check if both of these returns remain unfiled through 2020.
Earlier in the week of March 30, the IRS said that if a person didn’t file a return because their income was too low to require filing, that person would have to file an “abbreviated” return to get the payment. I don’t know what an “abbreviated” return is. I assume the IRS meant you must file a return to prove you don’t have to file a return, for the purposes only of providing proof of your income and bank account information. Those receiving only Social Security payments might fall into this category.
As of April 1, the Treasury reversed itself on that point. The most recent guidance states that, at least for SS recipients, some veterans and others not otherwise required to file, no return is necessary. The IRS will simply deposit their checks directly into their bank accounts where the SS or other federal benefits are paid. There now is no need for these people to file an “abbreviated” return, whatever that is.
The Paycheck Protection Program
Guaranteed and Forgivable Federal Loans
If the $1,200 refundable credit for individuals is the centerpiece of the CARES Act, the Paycheck Protec-tion Program (PPP) is a close second. And for small businesses, it will very likely prove to be much more valuable than the $1,200 credit. This is especially true since small business owners with AGI above certain limits aren’t getting the $1,200 credit anyway.
The PPP authorizes up to $349 billion in forgivable loans to small businesses to pay their employees during the COVID-19 crisis. That’s right. I said “forgivable” loans. In fact, not only are the loans forgivable assuming you use the proceeds as provided by law, but further, there is no personal guarantee or collateral required by a business owner to obtain the loan. And what’s more, the Small Business Administration (SBA) “shall have no recourse against any individual share-holder, member, or partner of an eligible recipient of a covered loan for nonpayment of any covered loan” except to the extent that the proceeds were used for a purpose other than those authorized under the law. See: CARES Act §1102(a)(1).
Let me say all this another way. The loan doesn’t have to be paid back if you use the proceeds as authorized. You don’t need to personally guarantee the loan. You don’t have to put up any collateral. You can’t be sued for not paying the loan. Furthermore, it is not necessary to first seek a loan from some other source before applying for a PPP loan. The SBA waived the usual requirement that you seek funding from other sources before coming to the SBA. To top it all off, if the loan is forgiven, the forgiveness does not constitute “income” for tax purposes. And, there’s already talk about adding another $250 billion to the pool of resources available for these loans.
The Paycheck Protection Program is effective for loans made from February 15, 2020, through June 30, 2020. The loan terms are the same for everyone.
WHO QUALIFIES FOR A PPP LOAN?
Any type of business qualifies, including nonprofits, veterans organizations and Tribal businesses. Quali-fied businesses also include sole proprietorships, self-employed individuals and independent contractors. As long as your business has 500 or fewer employees, you can apply. Even certain businesses with more than 500 employees might qualify if they meet applicable SBA employee-based size standards for specified industries. Check the SBA’s website for more details on this.
AUTHORIZED USES OF LOAN PROCEEDS
The loans issued under the PPP will be forgiven as long as you use the proceeds for specifically authorized purposes. The law describes the following as authorized uses of loan proceeds:
• Payroll costs;
• Costs related to the continuation of group health care benefits during periods of paid sick, medical, or family leave, and insurance premiums;
• Employee salaries, commissions, or similar compensation;
• Payment of interest on any mortgage obligation (but not prepayment of, or payment of principal on a mortgage);
• Rent (including rent under a lease agreement);
• Utilities; and
• Interest on any other debt obligations that were incurred before “the covered period.” See CARES Act §§1102(a)(1), amending §7(a) of the Small Business Act, 15 U.S.C. 636(a).
The “covered period” is defined as the period beginning on February 15, 2020 and ending on June 30, 2020.
WHAT CONSTITUTES PAYROLL COSTS?
Payroll costs include any of the following items:
• Salary, wages, commissions, or tips (capped at $100,000 on an annualized basis for each employee);
• Employee benefits including costs for vacation, parental, family, medical, or sick leave;
• Allowances for separation or dismissal benefits;
• Payments required for the provisions of group health care benefits including insurance premiums;
• Payment of any retirement benefits; and
• State and local (but not federal) employment taxes assessed on compensation.
Sole proprietor self-employed persons and independent contractors are included in this program, even if they pay no wages to other employees. For this purpose, commissions earned by, or net earnings from self-employment (as reported on Schedule C), are considered “payroll costs.” Such earnings are capped at $100,000 on an annualized basis for each self-employed person.
Payroll does not include employment taxes imposed under the Internal Revenue Code, compensation paid to an employee who lives outside of the United States, qualified sick leave wages for which a credit is allowed under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, or qualified family leave wages for which a credit is allowed under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.
What we are talking about here are the payments due and made to employees for their services to your company.
HOW MUCH CAN YOU BORROW?
PPP loans are based on your average monthly pay-roll costs for the preceding twelve months from the date of application. The amount of the loan is equal to the monthly payroll average, multiplied by 2.5. For example, if your 12-month average payroll costs from February 2019 through January 2020 equal $10,000, your loan amount is $25,000 (10,000 x 2.5). The total amount available to any one business under the PPP is $10 million. The lender determines the precise loan amount you will receive based on the documents you provide.
Payroll costs are limited to $100,000 annualized for each employee. So, for example, if you have an employee who earns $120,000 a year, the amount of “payroll” for this calculation is capped at $100,000, or $8,333 per month. This applies to self-employed and independent contractors as well.
HOW MUCH OF THE LOAN CAN BE FORGIVEN?
Forgiveness of the loan is tied directly to how you use the money. The loan will not be forgiven if you use loan proceeds for anything other than payroll costs, mortgage interest (not principle), rent, and utilities payments over the eight-week period after getting the loan. The loan will likewise not be forgiven if you don’t maintain your staff and payroll.
The loan forgiveness amount is reduced if you decrease your full-time employee headcount. Likewise, you will not be forgiven if you reduce salaries and wages by more than 25% for any employee that made less than $100,000 annualized over the past twelve months. If you lay off workers, you have until June 30, 2020 to restore your full-time employment and salary levels for any changes made between February 15, 2020 and April 26, 2020.
WHAT IF THE LOAN IS NOT FORGIVEN?
If the loan is not forgiven, the remaining balance is nevertheless guaranteed by the SBA. It then converts to an amortized loan payable within two years at an interest rate of 1%. Loan payments are deferred for six months.
WHEN TO APPLY
Small businesses (corporations, partnerships, etc.) could submit applications starting April 3, 2020. As of April 10, 2020, independent contractors and self-employed individuals can apply for PPP loans.
WHERE TO APPLY
Apply for a PPP loan through any existing SBA lender or through any federally insured depository institution, federally insured credit union, and Farm Credit System institution that is participating. Other regulated lenders will be available to make PPP loans once they are approved and enrolled in the program. Check with your business bank right away to see whether it offers PPP loans. If it participates with the SBA in any way, it is likely already participating in this program. Go to sba.gov for a list of SBA lenders.
HOW TO APPLY
You must complete the Paycheck Protection Program loan application. It gets submitted to your PPP lender. Include the documentation sought in the form. The application must be submitted so that it can be processed by June 30, 2020. Included here is a copy of the application. You can take out just one loan under this program.
Note that the application, page 2, requires several “certifications.” You must certify “in good faith,” that:
• Current economic uncertainty makes the loan necessary to support your ongoing operations;
• The funds will be used to retain workers and maintain payroll or to make mortgage, lease, and utility payments;
• You have not and will not receive another loan under this program;
• You will provide the lender with documentation to verify the number of full-time equivalent employees on payroll and the dollar amount of payroll costs, covered mortgage interest payments, covered rent payments, and covered utilities for the eight weeks after getting a PPP loan;
• All the information you provide in your application, and all supporting documents and forms, are true and accurate;
• Knowingly making a false statement to get a PPP loan is punishable by law;
• You acknowledge that the lender will calculate the eligible loan amount using the tax documents you submit;
• You affirm that the tax documents are identical to those you filed with the IRS; and
• You also understand, acknowledge, and agree that the lender can share the tax information with the SBA’s authorized representatives, including authorized representatives of the SBA Office of Inspector General, for the purpose of compliance with SBA Loan Program Requirements and all SBA reviews.
SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS REQUIRED
You will need documents to prove,
1) the number of full time employees on your payroll,
2) the dollar amount of your payroll costs,
3) covered mortgage interest payments, or covered rent payments, and
4) covered utility costs for the eight-week period following the granting of the loan.
As to the number of employees, the Forms W-2 that you submitted to the Social Security Administration for 2019, and the Forms W-4 submitted to you by your employees, will help prove that issue. Also, your internal payroll records, including checks issued to employees for January and February 2020 will prove this point.
As to the dollar amount of the payroll, Forms 941 for all quarters of 2019 and the first quarter of 2020 will prove this, as well as current payroll data for the second quarter 2020.
Interest on loans, rent and utility bills can be document-ed from information on hand for each of these items.
Note that interest on any loans, rent or utilities that you cover with PPP loan proceeds must be paid pursuant to mortgage obligations, rent agreements or utilities for services which began before February 15, 2020. You can’t pay for a new loan or make rent payments per a lease agreement entered into on or after February 15, 2020.
HOW LONG DOES THE PROGRAM LAST?
The application process is open through June 30, 2020. However, there is a cap on the amount of money appropriated by Congress for these loans. Once the money is gone, it’s gone, unless Congress appropriates more, which is distinctly possible. In the meantime, you should apply as quickly as possible.
HOW TO REQUEST LOAN FORGIVENESS
A request for loan forgiveness is submitted to the lender servicing the loan. The request must include documents to verify that the money was used only for authorized purposes. You must prove the number of full-time employees and their pay rates, and, of course, that you paid those wages. You must also prove the payments you made on eligible mortgage interest, lease, and utility bills. You must declare under penalties of perjury that you used the loan proceeds to keep employees on staff and to make eligible mortgage inter-est, rent, and utility payments. To the extent that you used the money for other purposes, the loan will not be forgiven and there may be other legal consequences for misusing the money.
The lender must make a decision on the forgiveness within sixty days. In the meantime, the interest rate is 1% and is fixed. You must begin paying interest on the loan after six months, which is the deferral period. However, interest accrues during the deferral period. The loan must be paid within two years. It can be paid in full earlier as there are no prepayment penalties or fees.
CONCLUSION
Assuming you use the money as specifically dictated by the terms of the PPP program under the CARES Act, this loan is in fact a gift. There’s $349 billion (and likely more) available in bailouts to small businesses under this program.
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Learn more about Dan and your rights as a taxpayer at www.taxhelponline.com
Reading Time 6 mins 35 secs – Have you ever wondered why something God promised doesn’t seem to be happening in your life? Maybe you’ve prayed, stood on Scripture, confessed the Word, and believed, but the situation still hasn’t changed. When that happens, don’t assume God has failed you. His Word always works. Instead, become a student of the Kingdom and ask the Holy Spirit to show you what may be getting in the way. Hebrews 12 warns us about one of those things: a bitter root. It says, “ See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. ” Bitterness doesn’t stay small. It grows. It affects your heart, your words, your relationships, and even the people around you. That is why God takes it so seriously. If you want to walk in freedom and experience everything God has made available to you, you cannot allow bitterness, unforgiveness, gossip, or offense to take root in your heart. Bitterness Grows When It Is Fed Most bitter roots begin with a real offense. Someone hurts you, disappoints you, betrays you, mistreats you, or says something that cuts deeply. The pain may be legitimate, but what happens next matters. The natural response is often to replay the situation, judge the person, or tell someone else what happened. Before long, you’re not only carrying the offense yourself, but you’re inviting other people to carry it with you. That is what happened with Miriam and Aaron in Numbers 12. They began speaking against Moses, criticizing him and questioning his leadership. But Scripture includes one important sentence: “ And the Lord heard it. ” Miriam and Aaron were not responsible for judging Moses. God had chosen him. They did not know everything God knew, yet they spoke as though they had the authority to evaluate and condemn him. We do the same thing far too easily. We hear a story, see something online, get frustrated with a leader, coworker, friend, family member, or even a stranger, and suddenly we have an opinion about their heart, motives, and character. But you don’t know everything. You don’t know their entire story, and most importantly, they do not answer to you. Gossip, slander, and judgment feed bitter roots. They create trouble, spread offense, and poison hearts. God has called us to something different. Unforgiveness Keeps You Bound Jesus told a story in Matthew 18 about a servant who owed his king an enormous debt, far beyond anything he could ever repay. The king had mercy on him and completely canceled the debt. Then that same servant found someone who owed him a much smaller amount. Instead of extending the mercy he had just received, he demanded payment and had the man thrown into prison. When the king heard about it, he called the servant wicked because the man had been forgiven of an impossible debt but refused to extend forgiveness to someone else. That story gives us a picture of what Jesus has done for us. Colossians tells us that through Christ, we have been forgiven. Jesus paid a debt we could never repay. He brought us into God’s Kingdom, gave us a new identity, and made His inheritance available to us. When you understand how much you have been forgiven, it changes the way you look at the people who have hurt you. Forgiveness does not mean what happened was acceptable. It does not mean there are no consequences, boundaries, or restitution. Forgiveness is about what you choose to carry in your own heart. You can hold someone responsible for appropriate consequences without allowing bitterness to hold you captive. When you refuse to forgive, the person who hurt you may continue living their life while you remain imprisoned by what happened. God wants you free. Forgiveness Is a Decision, Not a Feeling One of the biggest mistakes people make is waiting until they feel ready to forgive. Forgiveness is not primarily a feeling. It is an act of faith. Jesus modeled this for us. First Peter 2 says that when people insulted Him, He did not retaliate. When He suffered, He made no threats. Instead, He “entrusted himself to him who judges justly.” Jesus trusted the Father to be the judge, and you can do the same. You may not feel differently the moment you forgive someone. That is okay. Feelings follow. They do not lead. By faith, you can say, “God, I choose to forgive them. I release this into Your hands. You know what happened, You know the pain, and I trust You to judge justly.” That decision begins pulling the bitter root out of your heart. Guard Your Heart and Your Words Proverbs 4 tells us, “ Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. ” Your words reveal what has been growing in your heart. Jesus taught in Mark 11 that faith-filled words have authority. We love to quote the verses about speaking to the mountain, believing we receive, and seeing the answer come to pass. But sometimes we forget what Jesus says immediately afterward: when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them. That connection is important. You cannot spend a few minutes speaking the Word over your life and then spend the rest of the day criticizing people, complaining about your circumstances, speaking defeat, and feeding offense. Your words matter all day long. The same mouth you use to speak faith can also release fear, bitterness, judgment, and unbelief. You are constantly agreeing with something, so ask yourself: Are your words agreeing with heaven or with the enemy? Don’t Let Strife Take Root in Your Home This principle is especially important in marriage. Ephesians tells us not to let the sun go down while we are still angry because unresolved strife gives the enemy an opportunity. Marriage is a covenant of unity, and when bitterness and unforgiveness enter that relationship, they begin attacking the very agreement God designed to bring strength. If you have offended your spouse, apologize. If your spouse has hurt you, forgive. That does not mean ignoring problems. It means dealing with them without allowing resentment to take root. The enemy would love to use offense to divide your marriage, your family, your friendships, your church, or any other relationship God wants to use for His purposes. Don’t give him that opportunity. You will not go through life without someone hurting you. Offense will come. The question is what you will do with it when it arrives. You do not have to carry it, replay it, tell everyone about it, or let it become part of your identity. You can forgive by faith. You can trust God to judge justly. You can guard your heart, speak life, and pull the bitter root out before it has the opportunity to grow and affect anything else. Jesus has already paid the price for your freedom, and He wants you to experience everything He made available to you. So if the Holy Spirit is bringing someone or some situation to your mind right now, don’t ignore it. Give it to God. Forgive. Apologize if necessary. Make things right where you can. Your freedom is worth it. A Simple Prayer Father, thank You for the mercy and forgiveness You have shown me through Jesus. I choose today to forgive those who have hurt, disappointed, or offended me. I release them into Your hands and trust You to judge every situation justly. Forgive me for the times I have allowed bitterness, gossip, criticism, or unforgiveness to grow in my heart. Help me guard my heart and use my words to bring life, encouragement, and faith to the people around me. Show me if there is anyone I need to apologize to or anything I need to bring into the light. I receive Your freedom today and choose to walk in love, forgiveness, and obedience. In Jesus’s name, I pray. Amen.
Reading Time 5 mins 59 secs – Have you ever sensed God calling you toward something bigger than what you can accomplish on your own? Perhaps it was restoring a relationship, launching a business, serving in ministry, changing careers, or believing Him for healing, provision, or freedom. Yet as soon as you considered taking that first step, your mind filled with questions. How will this happen? Where will the resources come from? What if it doesn’t work? Those questions are familiar to every believer because God’s promises often lead us beyond what seems naturally possible. Left to ourselves, we tend to evaluate every opportunity by our own experience, abilities, and resources. But God’s Kingdom doesn’t operate according to human limitations. It operates by faith. Too many Christians spend years living in what Proverbs describes as “hope deferred,” waiting for circumstances to change while never stepping toward what God has already promised. God never intended for His children to simply admire His promises from a distance. He invites us to believe His Word, act on it, and experience His faithfulness firsthand. Every Promise Carries God’s Ability When God makes a promise, He never asks you to accomplish it through your own strength. His promises are not empty wishes or encouraging thoughts. They carry His power to accomplish exactly what He has spoken. Isaiah reminds us that God’s Word never returns empty but accomplishes the purpose for which He sends it. When God speaks, He has already considered every obstacle, every need, and every detail you cannot yet see. Nothing catches Him by surprise. That truth changes how we respond when God leads us into unfamiliar territory. Instead of asking, “How am I going to make this happen?” we begin asking, “Lord, what are You asking me to do next?” Faith doesn’t require us to have every answer before we obey. It simply requires us to trust the One who does. Faith Moves Before You See the Outcome Hebrews 1:1 tells us that “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” God’s Word becomes the evidence that gives us confidence to move forward even when visible proof has not yet appeared. Throughout Scripture, we see this pattern repeated again and again. Peter had to cast his line before finding the coin in the fish’s mouth. Joshua and the priests stepped into the overflowing Jordan River before the waters parted. The disciples seated thousands of hungry people before the loaves and fish multiplied. In every case, obedience came before the miracle. God rarely reveals every detail in advance because He is teaching us to trust Him instead of our own understanding. As we move toward His promise, He faithfully reveals the next step. Revelation follows obedience. Stop Measuring God’s Promise by Your Resources One of the greatest obstacles to walking by faith is our tendency to evaluate God’s calling based on what we currently possess. We look at our bank account, our experience, our education, or our circumstances and conclude that what God has placed in our hearts is impossible. But impossible according to whom? If God has truly spoken, then His promise is not limited by your current resources. He already knows what you need before you ever take the first step. He knows the people you’ll meet, the opportunities He will open, and the provision He has already prepared. The God who gives the assignment also provides everything necessary to fulfill it. Our responsibility is not to manufacture the outcome. Our responsibility is to trust His Word enough to begin walking. Faith Always Has Corresponding Action James 2:17 teaches that faith without works is dead. Genuine faith always produces action because believing God changes the way we live. A farmer builds a barn because he expects a harvest. A fisherman prepares his equipment because he expects to catch fish. Expectation always leads to preparation. The same principle applies to every promise God gives us. When we truly believe His Word, our actions begin to reflect that confidence. We pray differently. We speak differently. We prepare differently. We stop waiting for perfect conditions and begin positioning ourselves for what God has promised to do. Faith is never passive. It responds. Don’t Leave the Promise Unclaimed Second Corinthians 1:20 tells us that every promise of God is “Yes” in Christ. Through Jesus, we have been welcomed into God’s Kingdom and invited to live under His covenant promises. Those promises were never intended to remain words on a page. They were given so we could experience God’s goodness in every area of life. The question isn’t whether God is faithful. The question is whether we are willing to believe Him enough to move. Faith doesn’t wait until every detail is clear. It responds to God’s Word with confidence, trusting that He will reveal each step in His perfect timing. As we walk in obedience, we begin to see His faithfulness unfold in ways we never could have orchestrated ourselves. What promise has God placed before you? Where is He asking you to trust Him instead of your own understanding? Perhaps today is your opportunity to stop waiting for certainty and begin walking by faith. As you take that first step of obedience, remember this: God already knows the way forward. He has already prepared what you cannot yet see, and He is faithful to accomplish everything He has promised. When you move toward His promise, you’ll discover that He has been preparing the way all along. A Simple Prayer Father, thank You that every promise You make is trustworthy and backed by Your power. Forgive me for the times I’ve allowed fear, doubt, or my own understanding to keep me from moving forward in faith. Teach me to trust Your Word more than my circumstances and to recognize the next step You are calling me to take. Give me the courage to obey even when I cannot see the entire path ahead, knowing that You are faithful to provide everything I need. Help me walk confidently in the promises You have prepared for me and experience the fullness of life You desire for Your children. In Jesus’s name, I pray. Amen.
Reading Time 5 mins 07 secs – Many Christians know what God has promised. They’ve read the verses. They’ve heard the sermons. They believe God is faithful. Yet they still wonder why they aren’t seeing breakthrough. Why does fear keep returning? Why does peace seem so difficult to hold onto? Why do God’s promises sometimes feel distant from everyday life? The problem often isn’t that God has failed to provide. The problem is that many believers have never learned how His Kingdom works. God never intended His children to simply know His promises. He intended them to live in them. You Belong to the Kingdom Paul writes that we are “ No longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household ” (Ephesians 2:19, NIV). The moment you accepted Jesus Christ, everything changed. You weren’t simply forgiven. You became a citizen of God’s Kingdom. Citizenship comes with rights. Every nation has laws that protect its citizens and benefits they are entitled to receive. God’s Kingdom is no different. When you were rescued from the kingdom of darkness and brought into God’s Kingdom, every promise He has made became part of your inheritance. You have a legal right to everything God says belongs to His children. The question is whether you’re living like a citizen. Knowing Isn’t Enough Many people assume that knowing God’s promises is enough. But Scripture teaches something different. You can know what God says and still fail to experience it. Imagine owning a field. The deed is in your name. You clear away the weeds and prepare the soil. But you never plant a seed. The land belongs to you, yet it produces nothing because you never put it to work. Many believers treat God’s promises the same way. They know them. They can quote them. But they never learn how to apply them to their lives. God’s promises were never meant to stay on the pages of your Bible. They were meant to become your reality. Prioritize Standing Your Ground Paul tells believers to “put on the full armor of God” so they can stand against the schemes of the enemy. Then he repeats the same instruction again and again: Stand. Stand your ground. Stand firm. The enemy’s greatest weapon is often intimidation. He wants you to surrender what God has already promised. He fills your mind with fear, doubt, and discouragement, hoping you’ll abandon your confidence before the answer comes. But Scripture says the shield of faith extinguishes every fiery dart of the enemy. Fear doesn’t have to control your thinking. When you know who you are in Christ and what God’s Word says about you, you don't have to agree with the enemy. You agree with God. Apply What God Has Given One of the most powerful verses in Hebrews says that the heroes of faith, Through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised (Hebrews 11:33a, NIV). Notice the progression: They believed. They acted. Then they received what God had promised. Faith is more than believing God can do something. Faith responds. It takes hold of what God has already provided. Jesus demonstrated this throughout His ministry. When He encountered sickness, He spoke to it. When He encountered demonic oppression, He commanded it to leave. He applied the authority that already belonged to Him. As citizens of God’s Kingdom, we have been given authority through Christ. That doesn’t mean we control God. It means we agree with His Word, receive His promises by faith, and apply them to the situations we face. Don’t Settle for Less In the book of Judges, the Israelites abandoned the fertile land God had given them and hid in caves because they were afraid of their enemies. Instead of standing on God’s promise, they adjusted their lives around fear. How often do we do the same? We settle for anxiety. We accept defeat. We lower our expectations. We begin believing our circumstances have the final word. But God’s Word says otherwise. If He says He will provide, believe Him. If He says He has given you peace, receive it. If He says healing belongs to His children, stand on His promise. Don’t build your future around what the enemy says is possible. Build it on what God has declared. Every Promise Is Already “Yes” Scripture says that every promise of God is “Yes” in Christ. God has already spoken. His promises are already established. Our response is faith. Our response is “Amen.” “So be it.” When we agree with God’s Word, stand our ground, and refuse to be moved by fear, we position ourselves to experience what He has already provided. God isn’t withholding His promises. He invites us to understand His Kingdom and walk confidently in the authority He has given us. His promises are still true. His Kingdom still works. And everything He has spoken remains available to those who believe Him. A Simple Prayer Father, Thank You for making me a citizen of Your Kingdom through Jesus Christ. Help me understand what You have already provided for me and teach me to walk confidently in every promise You have given. Strengthen my faith to stand firm when challenges come and to agree with Your Word instead of fear. Show me how to apply Your truth to every area of my life and trust that Your promises are always faithful. Thank You that every promise is “Yes” in Christ. I receive what You have prepared for me and choose to stand on Your Word today. In Jesus’s name, I pray. Amen.