|||As the co-founder of Grand Bay Construction,|||Chris Birch builds vacation homes and properties across|||the tourist town of Santa Rosa Beach, Florida.|||This is a big tourist destination.|||I had plans to, you know, build a|||big construction company, was my plan, and I|||had some partners.|||But within two years, the housing market began|||to crash, and Chris and his financial partners|||
quickly felt the pressure.|||Prices in real estate were being dropped and|||dropped and dropped and dropped, and owners defaulted|||and couldn't pay us.|||So we were sort of left with a|||lot of obligations financially that we couldn't keep|||going.|||I didn't panic, but it was sort of|||like, okay, you know, what's going on?|||You know, we've got a storm coming.|||
Chris is a Christian and has been a|||faithful tither since his mid-20s.|||But with his business struggling, Chris had to|||decide if he should stop giving.|||The Lord has taken care of me all|||these years.|||Even things have been tight.|||You know, why would I not trust His|||word, and why would I just borrow from|||Him or steal from Him, whatever you want|||
to say.|||And so I said, I'm not going to|||do that.|||To show the Lord that I really do|||believe Him and I really trust Him, I'm|||going to actually give more than I'm giving|||now, even though, again, my income is going|||down.|||And it wasn't a lot, but this was|||something I just felt, like the Lord said,|||
just trust me with this.|||At the end of 12 months, Chris was|||amazed at what happened to his finances.|||I had paid off my graduate school loans,|||which was pretty amazing, and I had saved|||more money in that one year than I|||had in the previous five years combined.|||You know, God's economy just doesn't work the|||way ours does.|||There's no way I can explain that, besides|||
Him just saying, you trusted in me, and|||I'm going to provide for you.|||His construction business survived the recession.|||In the years since, Chris has seen even|||more incredible growth.|||So from those days when we first got|||started, I mean, I don't know the exact|||numbers, but I would say we're probably close|||to almost 10 times in volume sales than|||what we were doing back then.|||
Chris continues to tithe and also gives time|||and money to ministries that serve those in|||need, like CBN.|||Operation Blessings and all those type things, I|||really believe in those kind of things.|||I'm trying to do that as well, but|||I love being part of a bigger organization|||that's doing those things and changing the world|||and bringing light to the darkness.|||He's increased the business, and in turn, we|||
take a portion of our business and we|||turn that back into the kingdom, whether it's|||buying Bibles or we've got mission projects all|||over the world where we're helping spread the|||gospel.|||According to Chris, the key to overcoming financial|||strain is following God's financial principles.|||If you do what God asks you to|||do, He will give you this peace, and|||He will provide a way.|||
Even when, like in my case, there was|||no way it worked on paper, and all|||these things that looked horrible, I've turned out|||better.|||Everything has turned out better, and He's proven|||to me that He'll take care of me|||even through those difficult times.|||
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