I know what you’re thinking. “Here she goes again with her ramblings about giving. Doesn’t she know that I have bills to pay and too many mouths to feed as it is?”

Yep. I do. Which is why I want to impart one of the most important, if not the most, wealth-building principles in the spiritual kingdom. Giving. Giving big. Giving specifically. Whatever He asks of you.

God ALWAYS rewards generosity, but what people don’t realize is that the paybacks are generally more than the initial investment. His rewards are like dividends.

While it’s great to give when you can and feel like it, God will ask you to give big and specifically at times. He’ll ask you to reach deep within your box and give outside of it.

I was hurriedly shopping at a garden warehouse the other week and ignored the lady who approached me when I parked. I was having a bad day, didn’t have time, and, frankly, didn’t have that much cash on me (because He always has me giving it away!). I felt bad when I went into the store. I knew that God wanted me to talk to her, but I thought that because I’m always giving to others in need, I could pick and choose who to stop for this time around.

Um, yeah. I thought wrong.

I can’t put this any other way but bluntly: The Lord doesn’t really care what we “feel” like doing. Sure, He forgives us when we are in error and repent, but He’s the leader of the pack. He calls the shots.

In the store, I couldn’t find peace (no big surprise). So I said, “Sorry, Lord. I’m having a rough day, but I trust that if you want me to bless that woman in some way, she’ll be there when I leave.”

When I handed her what was left in my wallet (about fifty bucks) and offered a few edifying words about her finding new employment (she was laid off), she graciously replied, “And may the Lord bless you in big ways.”

My husband and I recently uprooted our hardscape and were in the market for new patio furniture, which has been hard to come by this season for various reasons (we’ve been looking since April). We haven’t had much luck finding what we want for what we want to spend.
About a week after I met that lady (after shopping at a garden warehouse that left me wanting), the perfect set of patio furniture became available online from another vendor, at a reasonable price, to be delivered before the end of this century.

There was a man begging at a traffic light a while back. I bought two grocery cards for another family that had fallen on hard times (they were in my wallet). In that moment, I heard that still small voice clearly say, “Give him one of the grocery cards.” I did, even though I was a little confused since I intended to give them to the family in need. But God wanted to change things up a bit.

About a week or so later, my husband received favorable confirmation about a business deal he’s been working. An uncertain deal that’s gone several different directions for months.

I’m not going say that one thing is directly tied to the other, because we can’t always know. But I can say this, every time I give, especially when I don’t feel like it or don’t have the extra, He blesses us for it.

Pressed down.
Shaken together.
Running over. (Luke 6:38)

….When we trust in His ways and open our wallets and hearts.