Tuesday, September 20, 2011

The Act of Giving

Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Luke 6:38 NIV

Its funny how this all works out. It seems hard to do when you live in a society where a lot of the focus is on yourself and not on others. Even when we are on our last little bit of money or food. We read all through the bible how someone gave to fill a need and they in turn had their need filled. I have seen this so many times already in just the last few months.

A couple from church and bible study had blessed me $250 check toward my move to Ethiopia and a few weeks later the husband had gotten a raise at work.

When I was moving and needed to sale all of my stuff so I could at least survive during the move I was trying to sale my bed and posted many times on craigslist, had many calls and emails about it, but this one couple had called after about a few others had contacted me. So I felt that I needed to hold this bed for them. They never called me back or anything so I reposted it again. The same thing happened again, people would not come and pick it up so I got so frustrated about it, but I kept reposting it. The couple finally called me back a week later and they came out to pick up the bed. It was a really nice bed too. I was selling it for less than what it was worth, but I needed to move it. When they had gotten there the husband had shared his story with me and how God had moved upon him to move down from Chicago to Nashville. They had nothing to bring with them so they were starting their lives all over again. When we went to give me the money for the bed which was only a $120.00 I felt God tell me that if I take that money I would be making a mistake. So I ended up giving them the bed even though I needed the money too.

Later on that night I was talking to some friends about it and had told them that I felt God move upon my heart to help someone earlier in the week and I did not follow through with it. This time I would obey the voice of God and give them the bed. We talked about it and confessed with each other for not following through with what God had laid on our hearts. Well we prayed and confessed our sins of not obeying God. Afterwards when we had finished praying I had a need another need that had come up and they in turn fulfilled that need that was $400. A little later God blessed them with a car.

It is so beautiful when we put others needs before our needs. I am not saying that if you have responsibilities to ignore them, but you need to hear from God before you give. I have been learning so much from the book When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert. I have seen in this book how helping can actually hurt someone when their is another way for them, but if God is laying that at your feet to follow through with it. You never know how God will bring it in return pressed down and shaken together.

God bless you my friends and thanks for reading.

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