I remember when my husband and I first moved to Las Vegas and were embarking on our new adventure as newlyweds, we sat down and prayerfully decided to give a certain percentage of our income to our new home church. It was an increase from our tithe that we were giving, but we decided that generosity was very important to us and that we wanted to lay a foundation of giving to God in our first year of marriage.
I will never forget the expectation we had every time we would give. We knew the principles of the Bible, that if we give it will be given unto us, and we had all the faith in the world that God would reward our generosity. It was never our motivation, but we anticipated a blessing because God doesn't lie! Our expectation was not ignored! We had many blessings and testimonies that came from our first year of marriage, and it was incredible to see the hand of God move in many ways (not only financial, but also answering prayers that were seemingly impossible!)
Sometimes when you do something routinely, it is easy to get in the habit of loosing anticipation or excitement about it. Over time, we lost some of our luster and fervor for giving, and most definitely lost our expectation of blessing! We still gave...but it had become habit and routine, rather than done with excitement, love for God, and faith for His provision.
Psalm 9:18 stuck out to me, “The EXPECTATION of the poor shall not perish forever.” It reminds me to stir up that healthy expectation for the blessing of God – not just financially, but in every area. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we do not see.” and Hebrews 11:6 says, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
We must believe that He is, and that He rewards! How can we believe that He is a provider, if we don't believe in His provision? Sometimes it feels rather greedy to expect to to be rewarded from God, but this scripture is a reminder that it is the person-hood of God! He is a giver! He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him! He is our provider! That is just who He is and we can't change Him, but only can accept with gratefulness His blessings over our lives!
I will never forget the expectation we had every time we would give. We knew the principles of the Bible, that if we give it will be given unto us, and we had all the faith in the world that God would reward our generosity. It was never our motivation, but we anticipated a blessing because God doesn't lie! Our expectation was not ignored! We had many blessings and testimonies that came from our first year of marriage, and it was incredible to see the hand of God move in many ways (not only financial, but also answering prayers that were seemingly impossible!)
Sometimes when you do something routinely, it is easy to get in the habit of loosing anticipation or excitement about it. Over time, we lost some of our luster and fervor for giving, and most definitely lost our expectation of blessing! We still gave...but it had become habit and routine, rather than done with excitement, love for God, and faith for His provision.
Psalm 9:18 stuck out to me, “The EXPECTATION of the poor shall not perish forever.” It reminds me to stir up that healthy expectation for the blessing of God – not just financially, but in every area. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we do not see.” and Hebrews 11:6 says, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
We must believe that He is, and that He rewards! How can we believe that He is a provider, if we don't believe in His provision? Sometimes it feels rather greedy to expect to to be rewarded from God, but this scripture is a reminder that it is the person-hood of God! He is a giver! He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him! He is our provider! That is just who He is and we can't change Him, but only can accept with gratefulness His blessings over our lives!
Thanks for reading,
Mel
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