Hosanna Restoration Church

I asked the Lord what He wanted this morning, and He said, “I want you blessed!” To be honest it leaves me a bit speechless when God says things like that. I know it is true and yet with so many things around us going on and feeling so very blessed anyway, it is more than a little humbling to have Him say things like that. Still, truth is truth.

God does want His children blessed and that is why He wants us to understand the benefit that comes from giving. He, after all is the greatest giver of all time. He created all things and gave us dominion. He gave His son our Savior for us. He gives good gifts to men. He gives and gives and gives! What does He ask in return? He says, “I want you!”

We better believe that when He has us, we are blessed. I was awake in the night praying for persecuted Christians. I was praying for those who are being brutally murdered by demon possessed people. At the same time, I was thinking about always being filled with Joy in the Lord! Oh Lord is it right for me to be so filled with joy when I have family being murdered? Of course! My joy in the Lord has nothing to do with what is going on in or around my life!

What does this have to do with giving? It has everything to do with it. God calls us to give ourselves to Him. He says give yourself to prayer. Give your money. Give your time. Give your love. Give your forgiveness. Give your patience. Give your hope. Give, give, and give! And when you think you have given enough…give some more!

In verse 5, we are told, “Let everyone see that you are gentle and kind. The Lord is coming soon.” Give gentleness and kindness. Who are we supposed to give that to? Everyone! Especially the difficult ones; the ones we don’t want to be gentle or kind to. Why does God want this? Well, for starters, He was gentle and kind to us when we did not deserve it. Lest we forget, we were all sinners once.

I am often amazed at how people can be judgmental of and throw stones at people when they live in a glass house themselves. I am so glad God is not that way. I want to hate those people who are killing Christians but I can’t. I found myself praying they would be arrested by God and convicted of what they have done and that they would end up in heaven telling the very one they murdered how thankful they are for the witness of the love of God that they showed as they were being murdered. After all, God does not want anyone to perish.

So I ask myself, what am I not giving that is keeping me from all the blessings God wants me to have? I know if I continually give myself to Him I will find out. I know that first and foremost, He wants me. He wants you. He wants everyone. When we are His, we are blessed!