“But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and
he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.”—2 Corinthians 9:6
In school, we learned how to
subtract and to add. Take away and you
will have less than what you began with; add, and you will have more than what
you started with. The view point of the
world thinks that when you give something away then you will have less than
what you started with; however, God tells us that when we give, we will receive
even more in return. “Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good
measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard
of measure it will be measured to you in return” (Luke 6:38 NASB).
God’s
design for giving requires that we depend on His revelation rather than our
own human reasoning. Logical thinking
would look to see how much money you had before deciding how much is available
to give. The Bible, however, states that
all wealth belongs to the Lord and we are to give back to Him the first fruits
of our labor (Deuteronomy 18:4-5). “Indeed heaven and the highest heavens
belong to the Lord your God, also the earth with all that is in it” (Deuteronomy
10:14). When we obey, we trust Him
to take care of us—which sometimes means choosing to ignore what makes logical sense
and. There are times that God satisfies
our needs and blesses us in a way He knows will truly be the best for us.
When facing hard financial
circumstances, we can be tempted to justify hoarding our resources. But God, who perfectly understands the
situation, requires that we give not simply out of our surplus, but out of our
need. The Macedonian church, for
example, gave generously even while experiencing affliction. “Moreover,
brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of
Macedonia; that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and
their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality. For I bear
witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they
were freely willing, imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the
gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints” (2 Corinthians
8:1-4). This pleased the Lord
because they were giving in faith.
The world-over, people are facing
difficult financial situations. And yet,
the Heavenly Father has provided a way of escape for His people by giving. When God divided the Red Sea for His people
to escape, the waters were pushed back to form a three mile wide corridor for three
million people to walk across on dry land.
You may be facing a huge financial situation, but remember, you have a big god who has provided a way of escape
for you. Prayerfully give and stand in faith on God’s promise
to you—He directs your seed to be multiplied back to you.
Prayer—Father
I thank You for Your means of financial escape for me. No problem is too big for You, and today I
ask You to direct the placement and the amount of my giving, in Jesus Name. Amen.
