The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. Genesis 12:1-4
“Name one place where you need to give up control and trust God to provide, even when others take advantage of your generosity. Now turn it over to God and be at peace in Him. Name one person you are relying on to be your provider instead of God. Repent today of that misplaced trust and, like Abraham, ask God to give you the strength and courage to trust in Him alone. Name one thing that God may be asking you to give away today in order to be obedient to His call to generosity. Make a decision today to be obedient, to give that thing away, and to watch God meet all of your needs.”
Richard Samuel in “Abraham: An Example of the Generous Life” excerpt from Day 2 of Seven Day Generosity Challenge by John Wiebe and the MB Foundation. Click to download the PDF and go through it.
Samuel makes important connections related to generosity. We can only be a blessing to others if we steward what God supplies with obedience. This requires trust in Him, rather than ourselves to supply, and it marks the pathway for blessing others.
Please read today’s post again. But this time, ask the Spirit to guide you as to which imperative may relate to you. Is it time to name one place, person, or thing? Will you repent and make a decision? Generosity for Abraham started with obedience, was tested with trust, and resulted in blessing.
God said, “Go” and he went. What is God telling you to do? Will you trust and extend blessing?
I have connected in Frankfurt en route home from Kyiv, Ukraine to Denver, Colorado. It was an amazing trip. Almost unthinkable to serve a total of 560 receptive people in multiple groups in 2 countries during Covid. The Lord opened a door and said, “Go” so I went. All glory to God.
Reply if you want a copy of the Ukraine and Moldova GTP and Mission Eurasia trip report. And I hope you like the header photo of Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, Ukraine. I got to walk through it and was gripped with awe at the rich history of our faith etched on the walls.
And, of course, I thought of my beloved daughter, Sophie. I hope she can visit someday.