Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. 2 Corinthians 9:10-11
“God will supply and multiply the seed and increase the fruits of righteousness for those who give generously. God gives to us so that we can share what He gives with others, and our harvest of righteousness is an increasing closeness to God that expresses itself in prayer and fasting, which remind us that he alone is the source of the blessings we enjoy.”
Issiaka Coulibaly (Côte d’Ivoire) in “2 Corinthians” in Africa Bible Commentary, Tokunboh Adeyemo, General Editor (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006) 1433.
I decided to pack my Africa Bible Commentary and explore Bible verses and themes of Lent with African scholars as I travel to Benin, Togo, Côte d’Ivoire, and Senegal this month.
Today Coulibaly shares a profound idea about the harvest we reap when we give generously. It takes the form of an “increasing closeness to God that expresses itself in prayer and fasting.” Did you catch that?
Our prayer and fasting during Lent come into view as the fruits of the increasing closeness we enjoy through the practice of giving. We find our purpose in enjoying and sharing God’s blessings.
And we pray and fast to discern the ongoing role He wants us to play. This rings true for all of us. We experience it during Lent. For my part, after prayer and fasting, I discerned that it was time to travel to Francophone Africa.
God has raised up a regional facilitator, Samson Adoungbe. Now it’s time to bring biblical teaching and training. And we have the GTP Diagnostic Tool and Templates contextualized and translated for the French context.
Appreciate your prayers for me as I fly from Denver to Chicago to Brussels today. Tomorrow I connect in Brussels for Cotonou, Benin, where I will serve from 5-9 March 2023. Reply if you want my itinerary with prayer points.
And keep giving, praying and fasting. In so doing, I hope you enjoy increasing closeness with God, which strengthens your faith to serve as a conduit of blessing wherever He leads you.