Devotion #1: Trust God And Find Joy
Giving is often a hard topic for Christians to talk about. Leaders in many churches will not talk about it at all, while in other churches, it seems like that is all they talk about. Growing up, I lived in a family that valued giving to the work of the Church. My entire childhood and teen years, I was well aware my parents were faithful in their giving, so it never crossed my mind that I would not give financially as well.
However, why? If we work hard for our money and live a life where we pay our bills and do not live excessively, why would we give our hard-earned money away? Do you find yourself thinking, “If you are quite wealthy, it is fine to give, but if you are barely able to put anything into savings (or sometimes not able to put anything into savings), why would you want to give to the church?”
This is something that absolutely does not make sense to our human mind, and if you talk through it and ask others about it, you will see that it still does not make sense! The rewards of trusting God and living in faith are completely amazing when you are faithful in this seemingly unimportant matter, and no one, other than those who love Christ, will understand it.
Christ exemplified living simply and trusting God. God has not asked us to walk away from our source of income, and trust that there will be wheat on the side of the road for us to eat and feed our families. He does, however, ask that we trust in Him. One of the best ways we can demonstrate trust is to give a portion of what we earn to be used to further the Kingdom of God.
The early church willingly gave up their possessions and chose to support one another as there was need. Acts 2:44-45 records, “And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.”
At this time in the history of the Church, the people were tormented, hunted, and persecuted for their beliefs. People who were following Christ would come together, support each other, and show the love of Christ to their fellow Christians. The amazing thing is they did not have to do it; they did it out of love for each other, and because they were able to meet everyone’s needs that way.
We have an opportunity to bless others by giving. Often, there just is not any money after bills are paid to even think about giving money to the Church. If we submit to trusting God and give an amount we believe we can honestly afford to give, God can, and does, bless it. The immediate blessing is to our heart. To give brings joy, or it should. If giving brings us misery, then we should not give; instead, pray that God will guide us to His will. We should not give expecting God to bless us financially, although sometimes that does happen. We do not give expecting to get it back with or without interest, like a loan. We give because it requires faith and trust in God. We are able to draw closer to God when we are doing things to please Him. Trusting Jesus to take care of our needs definitely pleases Him.
I encourage you to give. A wonderful thing happens to your heart and mind when you know you are blessing others. If you do not have much, you most likely will not give much, but that is not the objective. The objective is to trust God. If you have not made a habit of giving to further the Gospel, start small and give what you know you can afford. If you can only give fifty cents or one dollar, then that is what you should give, and give it with a happy heart, thanking God for giving you extra to bless others with.
God does not need our money. God wants our hearts. Giving what we have, knowing God is aware of our needs, will bring joy. I truly do not understand how it works; I just know that it does. I encourage you to find a blessing and trust in God’s provision through your giving. Give what you know you can, ask God to bless it, and He will.