“Don’t hold back. Throw yourselves into the work of the Lord.”
1 Corinthians 15:58 (The Message)
The Bible is full of words like abound, rush, flow, pour out words that speak to us of God’s abundant provision for His children. The picture described by the prophet Malachi stuns us with its richness: ‘Test me in this’, says the Lord Almighty, ‘and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it“. (Malachi 3:10).
Perhaps the Apostle Paul thought of those words as he encouraged a group of Jesus followers who may have been tired from the rigors of everyday living. ‘Don’t hold back’. Throw yourselves into the work of the Lord. Another time he reminded these same people, ‘Remember, a stingy planter gets a stingy crop; a lavish planter gets a lavish crop.’
(2 Corinthians 9:7).
As we call upon God to fill us with His energy and gifts, He provides what we need to go beyond ‘minimal living’. It is when we surrender all to Him, seek His guidance, and joyfully move ahead that we learn the reality of these words: ‘God can pour on the blessings in astonishing ways so that you’re ready for anything and everything, more than just ready to do what needs to be done.’ (2 Corinthians 9:8-9, The Message).
Lord, I love to be on the receiving end of abundance yet too often I pass along your love and blessing with tight fistedness. Help me overflow even as you do.
*from: Water My Soul – by Luci Shaw
By Marilyn Ehle
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