Giving It All Away, And Getting It All Back Again

Journey into Generosity

At the core of any meaningful life and legacy has to be a vision for generosity and an understanding of what it means to be a blessing to others. The value of giving to church, to mission, and to people must first be modeled, and then taught so that the next generation embraces generosity as their calling. Once a person embraces a concept, like generosity, as their own, then it’s much easier to understand the responsibility attached to it.

In my journey, I’ve discovered that the timing of generosity reveals your heart to God. That step of writing the check or hitting the “donate” button online can seem daunting. But it all comes down to trust. Do I trust that God is the same God who stayed Abraham’s hand from slaughtering his son and provided a ram in the thicket for the sacrifice? If my answer is yes, then that carries consequences. Good ones, too.

It means that as a consequence of God’s provisional faithfulness, I can take joy in giving even in hard times. Often, God just wants us to take the first step. It can be as simple as making a plan to get out of debt or a plan to support a missionary family for a decade. It’s the first step. Once we commit, I’ve found that God is quick to reveal himself in that endeavor.

It doesn’t matter whether we give out of wealth or humble circumstances. God can’t wait for us to step into the joy of generosity. We just need to trust him and take that first step.

Application: Was there a time you knew God wanted you to do something hard and with extreme faith? Did you go through with it, or did you end up regretting not doing it?

This devotional by David Green and Zondervan is available at Bible.com. (MCN)