As Jesus looked up, He saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.” Luke 21:1-4
“A faith promise provides you with a purpose to give and a purpose to pray and stimulates your faith towards bigger and greater things and opens the blocked channels of your life that fear and unbelief may have clogged.
Many years ago when I was a pastor in London church, I invited every church member at the beginning of the year to make a faith promise to God. Everyone took some time to pray over the matter and then put the figure they thought God wanted them to give on the faith promise card.
Later when recording the cards in the church faith promise register, I noticed the name of an old widow whose circumstances I was very familiar with. I was somewhat surprised at the comparatively large amount she had put on her card and later I went to see her to find out if she had made a mistake.
When I raised the matter that I considered her faith promise too large and that she ought to consider reducing it, she burst into tears. At first I thought they were tears of relief but eventually she turned to me and said, ‘Pastor, that is the figure the Lord told me to give – are you trying to stop me proving the Lord? This is the amount I promised to give and this is the amount I believe the Lord will enable me to give.’
I felt rebuked and didn’t quite know what to do. I apologized for my remarks and left the matter as it was. I watched the progress of her giving very carefully in the months that followed, and to my surprise and astonishment she fulfilled her promise on a monthly basis until every penny had been paid.
This woman had only meager savings and where the money came from I have no idea. On one occasion a friend of hers told me that members of her family who previously had given her very little financial help, began to send her regular financial gifts.
I think of this old widow often. She has gone to be with the Lord now and just days prior to her death she withdrew her small savings and sent it to the organization I serve – Crusade for World Revival – with this note saying: ‘I don’t have long in this world now – this might be the last time I can give to God in this way. Use it for His work and His service.’
As I look back I tremble to think that I came closer to hindering a woman from entering a dimension of giving that the Lord had been leading her into. Her Savior had been drawing her into a place where He would prove Himself to be no man’s debtor. I’ll never thank God enough for the lesson that widow showed me by her faith and confidence in God.”
Selwyn Hughes in Divine Mathematics: A Biblical Perspective on Investing in God’s Kingdom (Surrey, UK: CWR, 2004) 49-50.
God led the widow to pursue bigger and greater things with money as she got close to heaven. We see this in the biblical text and the story today. Hoe does it touch you?
Let’s review the first statement from Hughes today.
“A faith promise provides you with a purpose to give and a purpose to pray and stimulates your faith towards bigger and greater things and opens the blocked channels of your life that fear and unbelief may have clogged.”
A faith promise is praying and committing to stretch and sacrifice in your giving. It will cause you to face your fears and unbelief. And it challenges you to chose the path of faith and belief.
Imagine life as a widow. Such women have learned the faithfulness of God. They can trust Him with everything because they know experience that He will look after them. What about you?
Have you experienced the faithfulness of God. Is it time to show it through pursuing bigger and greater things with your generosity in 2026? God just might surprise you when you do it.
Like He surprised me with seeing a coyote on my morning walk with my son’s dogs. See it crossing the path in the photo above.