The blessing of giving!

I had an opportunity to preach at a church in Ukraine and was struggling to connect with the audience. I remember at one point during the lengthy service, the choir sang “How Great Thou Art.” The memory remains in my mind as the sound of the choir in that large stone building was overpowering in the best way possible. As I struggled to connect, God nudged my heart and said, “Tell them where you came from!” I stopped the message and said, “My great-grandfather came from this part of the world. I am so glad to have had the privilege of coming home.” The church erupted, and God moved through that simple connection. 

I tell you this because there is a blessing in giving! My desire in that message was to warm up the hearts of those who came to that cold (yes—it was so cold I could see people’s breath as they sat close to one another!) church that morning. It meant I had to trust that it wasn’t me who was going to make the connection. Rather, I had to trust that if I gave my all, God would bring blessing from it! It was not out of my power, and those were not my words.

That hymn, “How Great Thou Art,” was written by a preacher who was caught in a violent mid-day thunderstorm that turned into sunshine very rapidly as it passed through the Swedish countryside. Here are the lyrics of this famous old hymn’s chorus:

“Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee

How great Thou art, how great Thou art

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee

How great Thou art, how great Thou art”

Regardless of your circumstances, do you believe you were created to know the joy of giving, whatever that looks like for you today? Do you believe in the thundering chorus of that hymn, reminding you that in the end, everything belongs to our great God?

I often think of that church in Ukraine today and wonder, in light of the recent events, whether it still stands. I wonder about the people who came to church that Sunday and welcomed me. I think of their warm response after I was willing to let God take control of the morning. 

I leave you with this challenge: would you be willing to bring your gifts to the storehouse, trusting that God will multiply the gift?

“‘Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in My Temple. If you do,’ says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, ‘I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put Me to the test!’” (Malachi 3:10, NLT)

To clarify, we are not called to be generous so that we can gain wealth here on Earth. In fact, we’re warned to not store up earthly treasures (see Matthew 6:19).

However, our generosity here on Earth will bring us an abundance of blessings and understanding as we live our lives with our eyes focused on finishing well! :-)

Will you join me as we pray? “Lord, thank You for everything You have blessed me with! Thank You for Your abundance in my life. Thank You for creating me with a spirit of generosity because I am Yours and You’re a generous God. Help me today to remember that You are great and all is Yours. I am simply a steward of what You’ve entrusted to me. In Jesus’ name, amen!”

You’re a miracle!