When the people of Israel brought offerings to build the temple, David said: ‘For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours…Both riches and honour come from You…All things come from You, and of Your own we have given You’ (1 Chronicles 29:11-12, 14 NKJV). Imagine for a minute that you’re responsible for giving away someone else’s money. You aren’t allowed to spend it; you can only decide where it goes. When you think of it that way, it’s not hard to imagine finding pleasure in playing the philanthropist. Who wouldn’t enjoy being a vital lifeline to those who truly need it? Or wouldn’t you sleep a little better knowing that you had made a difference in the world? Yet as a steward over what God has entrusted to you, that’s the situation you find yourself in. You have been given someone else’s money and the opportunity to decide where it goes. The only thing that stands between you and unbridled joy is embracing that reality and pouring yourself into the work of God’s kingdom in the earth. A farmer doesn’t acquire seed to consume or hoard it. He only decides where to plant it. And only after the seed has been irrevocably cast into the ground is a harvest returned. That’s how joy is realised. If you’ve yet to find your beneficiaries in this world, you could be depriving yourself of a joy you were created to know. Just beyond the fear that is dampening your generosity awaits a harvest of joy. Hence Paul wrote: ‘See that you also excel in this grace of giving’ (2 Corinthians 8:7 NIV).

© 2024. Written by Bob and Debby Gass. Used by permission under licence from UCB International.