Trading My Sorrows

Focus: Giving and receiving

Luke 6:38 (NCV) Give, and you will receive. You will be given much. Pressed down, shaken together, and running over, it will spill into your lap. The way you give to others is the way God will give to you.

In times of economic crisis and in a period of financial stress, it’s entirely possible that ‘giving’ isn’t the first thing on your mind. When you’re depressed—your mind isn’t normally on what you can do for others, or how you can be a blessing. It’s probable your attention is riveted on how you’re going to make it through the day.

At a time like this, it’s important to keep reminding yourself that God’s ways are not like yours…which usually means that the right way to think could be the opposite of what would be your natural inclination.

So, in a nutshell—if you want to not just survive, but prosper—the thing you need to do is ‘give’…not ‘hoard’ what you have. When you release something by giving, it causes a ‘shift’. That may sound crazy to you—but it works.

It’s always good to recall the story of the woman and her son who were living in a time of famine. Almost all of this woman’s resources were gone. She had nothing but a small amount of flour and oil left. As she was about to prepare one last bit of food for herself and her son—she was approached by the prophet Elijah, who told her to feed him first.

The woman could have easily said, ‘I don’t think so’. She did comment that her meager provisions were all she had. But, Elijah persisted. He wanted her to make something for him before she fed herself and her son.

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Without further discussion, the woman obliged Elijah. It could have been her final act of obedience before she and her son starved, but things took a turn in a different direction after the woman presented her offering to Elijah.

After she let the prophet have his portion—she and her son never missed another meal.

This may be a story you’ve heard many times. It’s pretty much ‘the golden rule’.  ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.’ Another way I’ve heard it stated is: ‘What you make happen for others, God will make happen for you’. We know this—but do we always do it? I wonder if the woman in our story was as familiar with this principle as we are.

When Elijah asked her—no, told her to feed him first—did she think to herself, ‘Oh, I get it—when I feed him—of course, my son and I will be fed, too…it’s the golden rule’.

We don’t know if she knew anything about ‘doing unto others’, or not. Yet, in our society even most of the heathen are familiar with this philosophy.

Something as simple as ‘giving’ could be all that is standing in the way of your receiving relief from the pressures you’ve been under.

If food is what you lack—give food and ‘food’ will come back to you. If you’re lonely—look for someone lonelier than you are and befriend them. You will have found a friend for life. If you’re concerned whether you’ll have a home in the future—open your home to others. You will always have a place to live. If your money is running out—find someone who has less than you and be a blessing in whatever way you can. If you give money to people who are in need—you will never run out of money.

God said for us to test Him in the area of giving. He said if we would give only a tenth of our money back to Him, He would open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing that would amount to more than we could contain.

When you look at what little you may have and consider the wisdom of giving it away—nothing in you might feel like that would be prudent. Our flesh says, ‘You’d better hold on to what you’ve got—you don’t know how bad things might get’. But, the Spirit of God says, ‘be a giver’.

Often, when people hear this message, they feel resentful. They think the person preaching it is just trying to get their money. I can’t be the judge of the motivation of some ministers—but, I know the Word of God intends for us to be generous. It encourages us to give cheerfully, not grudgingly—but for our own good.

Declaration: I will find new strength by looking for opportunities to give. I will hold on less tightly to what I have in my storehouse. By blessing others…I will be blessed.

Topic: Legacy

Focus: Receiving a legacy

Colossians 1:9-12 (NIV) We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of His holy people in the kingdom of light.

Chances are, you may be in a tough spot right now. The word ‘legacy’ can seem intimidating if you are in a period of depression or trying to recover from dependency. You might be wondering how you will manage to ‘leave’ anything but debt—much less, a legacy. Well, we’re not going to worry about what you will leave behind, because that’s not the kind of legacy we’re referring to here. In God’s economy—there is no depression or lack. The Bible says, “But, my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19)

In God’s economy—there is always another chance. There is never a time when you’ve used up all your options and you’re just stuck. God is always able to make a way where there seems to be no way. He loves it when we are out of ideas and plans, because at that point—we seriously start looking to Him.

I love a good success story. You know the kind I mean. There’s this person who has nothing and nowhere to turn—they’re homeless, whatever. At the point of desperation, everything turns around. A miracle takes place and they get a whole new start. Well, those kind of things really do happen…with God.

If we look at the scripture above and take it apart, we can learn a lot. There are some key things to recognize that are simple, but profound.

To apply them, let’s imagine a person who has been reduced to nothing. No job, no home, no family, no phone, no pool, no pets—zip. The scripture above is actually a ‘blessing’, or a ‘prayer’. Let’s imagine it like a game show. The person with nothing just got called down to the front of the audience. The game show host says, “You have been chosen to receive a TWELVE PART LEGACY. This is a legacy with unimaginable potential and worth. As the recipient of the TWELVE PART LEGACY, from this time forward, you will:

Be continually growing with knowledge of God’s will

Receive wisdom from the Spirit of God on demand

Receive limitless understanding from the Spirit of God

Have the ability to always live a life worthy of the Lord

Be able to constantly act in ways that are pleasing to the Lord

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Be filled with genuine love that inspires you to do good works

Attract others who you will be able to teach and disciple

Be amazingly strengthened with all power according to God’s glorious might

Have great endurance

Be remembered for having the ability to demonstrate patience no matter what

Be known as someone who is joyful and thankful about everything

Share a phenomenal inheritance as a qualified heir in the kingdom of light

People often think of the will of God in terms of what they think He wants us to do or how He wants us to live. What if we thought of His will like the legacy it really is? Doing the will of God leads to a legacy of eternal riches in glory. What is there to think about or contemplate? If eternal riches in glory are included as part of the reward for living God’s way—how would we not be jumping up and down and saying, “Pick ME, Pick ME! I want that!”

But, often when we are struggling emotionally, we get our eyes off the prize and forget we’re heirs of the kingdom of God. We aren’t living ‘expectantly’ as though great things are about to happen, so guess what? They don’t!

Keep remembering: faith is the substance of things hoped for—the evidence of things not seen. Start believing for a legacy to come from the wealth of experience you’ve had with your particular situation. There is gold in that! Look for the gold. Stop seeing your life as a series of unfortunate events. All of that stuff has happened to you for a reason. Don’t let it go down the drain as a waste. See it as a gift—a legacy.

Declaration: I will find new strength by looking at my life as a legacy. I will see the good in what has happened to me. I will keep my eyes on the prize and see my experience as ‘gold’. I’m rich!