Every time you show generosity, you strengthen your faith.
Why is that? Because when you take something and, instead of using it on yourself, you use it to help others, then you’re going to have to depend on God to help you.
When you choose to help a friend who’s having a tough time paying his bills, you’re going to have to learn to trust God to provide for you.
If you only have a certain amount of time to get stuff done, but you stop and instead use the time to help your neighbor, you have to trust God to expand the time and make it work so you can get your stuff done, too.
Your faith is strengthened when you depend on God in those situations and trust him. You choose to pray, instead of worry and expect God to take care of your needs.
Philippians 4:6 says, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done” (NLT).
Over 33 years at Saddleback, we’ve had six different times where we asked people to give above their normal offerings. In every one of those times, God stretched my own faith. In fact, during one campaigns, God led Kay and me to give away our salary over a three-year period. Do you think that was a test of faith? How in the world were we going to live if we gave my entire salary to this offering (this was before I’d written any books)? It meant that for those three years, we had to trust God to somehow provide income.
That was a test of my faith. And each time God has tested me, my faith has only become stronger and stronger as God provided faithfully. God will do the same for you when you give generously.
Talk It Over
Talk about a time in your life when you had to trust God to provide for you as a result of your generosity.
What do you need God to provide for you today? Have you shown him that you’re willing to be generous with your time and money?
How might God be providing for you in your current situation in ways or means that are unexpected?
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