2 Corinthians 9:8 “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work” (NKJV)
Do you pray for God to bless you? We probably spend most of our time in prayer, asking God to bless things in our lives or asking God for something we need. And we should. Jesus even tells us we should.
We know that all good things come from God. That means that we don’t truly own anything we possess. It’s all a gift from God and ultimately should be used for Him. Our money, talents, and resources are opportunities to give back to God and others.
2 Corinthians 9:8 says that God is able to abundantly bless those who are generous in using their time and resources to do good things for others. This verse isn’t saying that God will bless us unconditionally. The two verses before this one, in 2 Corinthians 9:6-7, talk about how we should be cheerful givers in everything we do.
Paul is saying that God Blesses us—not so we might have comfortable lives—but so that we would be selfless in giving back to God and others.
There are many ways we can give back to God and others. We can start by regularly tithing to our local church, which is an investment in the kingdom work God is doing through local believers. We can give generously to those who are in financial need. We can also be generous with our time, talents, resources, and anything else we can use to serve God and others.
Next time you pray for God to bless you, take some time first to think about how you are helping others. If giving feels more like an obligation and not like an opportunity, consider how you can take steps to change that perspective and give regularly. And then—watch how God honors your joyful generosity.
God can make Grace abound to people, allowing them to be generous and fulfill their needs. God increases the ability of believers who give generously to give even more.
Amen
4 THINGS WE LEARN FROM JESUS’ PARABLE OF THE SHEEP AND THE GOATS
