Today it is tempting to stay in fear.
It is easy to become anxious.
We discover the antidote as we turn our attention outside of our situation.
Finding a path to peace and certainty involves looking where most will ignore.
GENEROSITY.
Generosity is God’s secret weapon against uncertainty.
In the last book of the Old Testament, Malachi, God reveals how our decision to choose or reject generosity will determine our mindset and our blessing.
Malachi 3:8-10
Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me, but you ask, ‘How do we rob you?’ In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse, the whole nation of you because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse that there may be food in my house. ‘TEST ME IN THIS,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘and see if I will not throw open the flood Gates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have enough room for it.’
We first discover that when we choose not to be generous, then we fall under a curse.
Have you seen a lack of generosity affect your life negatively?
Stop and ponder this for a minute.
What if some of your financial struggles today stem from your unwillingness to live with an open hand?
Next, we find that God is inviting us to test Him with our generosity.
If we test Him, He says that He will pour out an abundant blessing to us.
This is the ONLY place in all of the bible that God invites man to test Him.
When we are generous, God promises to protect us.
It may sound too good to be true, but I would like to share my first significant giving experience where God showed himself faithful.
When Angel and I first realized Clayton was coming, we prayed and felt directed for Angel to leave the workplace and stay home.
When we looked at our budget, we were $200 short every single month.
We cut every expense we could find, yet still, we were $200 short every month.
We faced a difficult choice.
Trust God or rely on our own means.
We decided to take God’s test.
Angel stayed home, and every time we got paid, the first check we wrote was a check of generosity.
God worked a miracle.
Not only did we never go short during that period, but we also paid off close to $5,000 in debt.
I’ve never gone back and calculated how it happened.
I know that God was faithful to us in His promise, and we’ve never looked back.
Since then, I’ve seen God show up again and again in my life.
When I have been obedient to this test, he’s always been faithful.
Where could you be generous right now?
Where do you need God to show up and He’s inviting you to test him?
During this time, I hear story after story of non-profits, churches, and other organizations that are seeing a decrease in donations.
At a time such as this, when we need God more than ever, shouldn’t our giving be increasing?
On Sunday, we sat down with our kids and discussed our giving.
We made a decision on two fronts.
We donated to a local food bank.
We made a gift to an international mission that provides housing for families in poverty.
There is no shortage of needs.
Where will you get involved?
How can you use this time to have intentional conversations with your family around giving?
Whose life could you transform through a simple act of generosity?
God has called us to test Him.
It’s our opportunity to trust Him.
Here is a truth, I know.
If, for some reason I’m wrong and God doesn’t show up, you are free to stop giving.
If that happens, I want you to contact me, because it will be the first time in my life I’ve had that conversation.