Dillon Gove

2 Corinthians 9:7-11

2 Corinthians 9, 7-11 Each one must give as they have decided in their heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion. For God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.

As it is written, He is distributed freely, He is given to the poor, His righteousness endures forever. He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.

Welcome to the Bridgeway Christian Church Daily Advent Devotional for Tuesday, December 17th. My name is Dylan Gove, and I serve as the high school leader for the juniors at Bridgeway. Today, I'm going to be talking about joy and generosity.

Many of us have experienced the joy of receiving during Christmas, the anticipation of running to the tree in the morning to open presents. However, as we grow older, the joy of Christmas is no longer in receiving gifts for ourselves, but instead giving gifts to our family and friends and their joy over receiving those gifts. The same thing happens as we mature in our faith.

As we grow in our journey with God, we see Him provide for us, and He sets us free to give to those in need around us. If we have such a great and exceedingly good Father in heaven, how can we hold out blessing those around us if we are able to meet their needs? As in the words of Jesus in the Gospels, freely you have received, freely give. Joyful generosity sets us free as believers to be a river of life and blessing to those around us, and at times, it can be costly to our own desires and dreams.

When God challenges us to be radical in our generosity, it's easy to have questions pop up in our heart. Questions such as, what if I won't have enough, or if it feels we are giving up on treating ourselves to all that we want. In a sense, this is correct.

We, through the discipline of radical generosity, lay down our own desires for material things, experiences, freedom, and sometimes even future plans. This requires full surrender and trust that God will provide and that His plan is better than ours, that His resources are beyond ours. In the act of giving, we get to experience the God of both abundance in the answered prayer of our brother and sister, but also in God's abundant provision of our own life.

A few years ago, I spent six months volunteering with a missionary organization. I raised a bunch of support and saved a considerable amount, and then quit my job and flew out of the country to partner with one of their international bases. While I was there, I got connected with another missionary, and he shared with me three months into the program that he still owed the school all of his fees for room and board, and was trying to raise support while away from his family and friends.

As I was walking away, praying that God would provide for that friend, I was convicted by the Holy Spirit and felt God challenge me that I had the amount that my friend needed in my bank account and that I should give all that money away. The problem for me is that I had plans for that money. Those were funds that I had worked hard to earn and raise for my own living costs.

If I gave it away, how would I be able to pay the remaining three months of travel and living expenses? As I wrestled with it for a few days and then decided to obey and gave away those savings, the next day, the mission base came to me and said that a different missionary had paid for the remainder of my fees and that I was recovered for my remaining three months. God had already set up my provision, and all I needed to do was to trust him. I even had enough funds to continue to monetarily support some friends in China at the time.

My joy was doubled by simply being generous and trusting God rather than my savings to take care of me. My prayer for you today is that you invite the Lord to speak to you about how you can give joyfully this season and have your eyes open to the opportunities to bless those around you. We all have something to give, be it time, talents, or sometimes just a listening ear.

As we close today's devotional, I invite you to join me in prayer. Lord, forgive me for holding on to my own desires and plans too tightly. Help me to experience the joy of freedom through radical generosity.

I thank you for the greatest gift you gave, which was your life for me. I invite the power and presence of that gift to be made a reality in my heart today, that people would see you in me through the way I joyfully give and bless those around me.