“Give freely and become more wealthy; be stingy and lose everything. The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed. People curse those who hoard their grain, but they bless the one who sells in time of need. If you search for good, you will find favor; but if you search for evil it will find you. Trust in your money and down you go! But the Godly flourish like leaves in spring.” Proverbs 11:24-28 (NLT)
You just cannot out give God! Generosity reaps favor, blessing and refreshing to the giver. Give and more will be given to you. Prosperity is the fruit of generosity. When you give to others, you will receive refreshing. Blessing, favor and will flourish.
I once prayed that God would bless us with more so we could be givers. I didn’t think we had enough to give, our income was just enough to meet our own needs. I didn’t see how I could give, especially in those months when there were more days than $$$ in the bank account! It was during this time that my Pastor challenged us to give out of our own needs. He said to us over and over, you just can’t out give God!
And so, we did it, we began to give. It didn’t seem like a lot, but we gave out of what we had. I can remember one time a homeless man showed up to the church office. He was just looking for something to eat. We bought him dinner and David saw that he didn’t have a coat or gloves, it was winter and cold. David took him to the store and bought him a pair of boots, new socks, a coat, gloves and a hat. This was at a time when our finances were limited, we had just enough to care for our families needs. Once the purchase was complete, David got back in the car and told me we couldn’t spend anything until payday, he just spent our last $100. There were still quite a few days left in the month. But you know what, we had everything we needed. Our bank account never went into the negative and all our needs were met.
One of my favorite moments of giving was at the check-out in Walmart. We were purchasing costumes for our boys for the fall festival. The cashier was a young girl who was so excited for our boys. We asked her if she had any kids and if they would be getting a costume. She said she did have a daughter and she had her heart set on a ballerina costume. Unfortunately, she couldn’t buy it until payday, so she was hoping it would still be available in her daughters’ size. We asked her what her daughters age and size was, went back into the store and purchased the costume. When we gave it to her she got tears in her eyes, no one had ever done anything like that for her. This time giving didn’t cost us much, but her response blessed us so much, I wanted to go buy all the costumes and give them all away!!!
Giving has become a part of who we are and how we live our life. When we see a need we can meet, we often just do it. We pray for wisdom, so that when the moment to give happens, we don’t hesitate and miss it. We have given out of our own need and we have given out of our abundance. We trust that in all things God is our provider. He takes care of us! Our needs are met and then some. His blessings and favor are gift and sharing them is joy to my soul
I pray today for more opportunities to give. I pray for an increase in my faith to trust God for everything I have need of. I pray for wisdom now and in the moment of opportunity. Amen.
How has God prompted you to give? What is God speaking to you today in Proverbs 11? Share in the comments below or join the conversation on our Journaling Through Proverbs Facebook Group.