By Andrea Merrell
Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for
food
will also supply and increase your store of seed and will
enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.
2 Corinthians 9:10 NIV
Finances were extremely tight, but the pull to give was strong. Not sure whether we would be able to pay all our bills and buy groceries, I gave in a simple act of obedience.
The Bible has much to say about money:
- Be generous. Invest in acts of charity. Charity yields high returns. (Ecclesiastes 11:1 MSG)
- Give, and it will
be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over
will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you
use, it will be measured back to you. Luke 6:38 NKJV)
- If you help the
poor, you are lending to the Lord—and he will repay you! (Proverbs 19:17 NLT)
- Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it. (Malachi 3:10 NKJV)
The world’s philosophy is to hold tightly to what we have, but God says to give. To be generous. To help others.
And to do it all with a cheerful attitude.
Some say you can’t out-give God. I’ve
certainly found that true in my life. By my simple act of obedience, He not
only repaid what I gave, He returned it with more than I
could have imagined or hoped for. He always gives back more than we sow.
One writer says it’s the level of our giving that determines the level of our receiving. When God says give, don’t be afraid. And don’t hold back, waiting until you have more to give. He will bless what you offer and repay you with heavenly interest.
Photo courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net and posterize.