Give Lots and Don’t Be Afraid

Last Sunday I prayed in the services just before the offering. I sensed the Lord leading me to pray that we would be generous in our giving and not live out of fear. The Lord has to deal with me often about fearfully holding on to things, especially my money. And certainly we are living in times that can cause one to pause and hoard. So I guess I was actually praying for myself.

When I came home, I sat down for my daily Bible reading. I’m reading through the chronological Bible, and no, I did not get up early enough to do it before church!

Anyway, the reading for the day included Psalm 112. Now, maybe most of you have this one memorized—and I just missed this when I was struggling to get Psalm 23 down. But this was not a familiar Psalm to me.

It reads, in part (vs. 4-8), “When the darkness overtakes the godly, light will come bursting in. They are generous, compassionate, and righteous. All goes well for those who are generous…Such people will not be overcome by evil circumstances….They do not fear bad news; they confidently trust the LORD to care for them. They are confident and fearless....”

There it is. Give lots and don’t be afraid. That is how we, as the Church, will be called to minister in coming days when fear may overtake the faint of heart and times may get more difficult. But we can give generously, share the love of Christ often, and walk confidently in our trust in our God!