Scripture

‘However, there need be no poor people among you, for in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you, if only you fully obey the Lord your God and are careful to follow all these commands I am giving you today.

 If anyone is poor among your fellow Israelites in any of the towns of the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward them. Rather, be openhanded and freely lend them whatever they need. ‘

Deuteronomy 15:4-5,7-8

https://my.bible.com/bible/111/DEU.15.4-5,7-8

Observation

God promised the Israelites that He would bless them so richly, that no one among them would have reason to be poor. His blessings were not going to be adequate, they would be abundant. Immediately after this promise though, He says ‘If anyone is poor…be openhanded and freely lend them whatever they need’.

God’s supply was abundant, as long as his distribution chain kept flowing.

Application

God’s love for me is without limit, and without expectation. While ‘I was yet a sinner, Christ died for me’. God has called me to love with the same measure, and without qualification or expectation of return. His supply is infinite, but I can become the limiting factor in God’s supply of blessing to those around me if I don’t keep my heart aligned with His.

God’s command to the Israelites to ‘be openhanded and freely lend’, implies that they had already received something abundantly into their hands, with which to bless others.

What has God given me? In my life, there are specific areas in which I can see abundance. It has been said that God asks us to give of our time, our talent, and our treasure. I may not be blessed equally in each of these areas, but God’s abundance is present in my life if I take the time to notice it. God has not given me these things for me to just sit on them like a dragon jealously guarding his pile of gold. Rather, God has entrusted them to me so that He can bless others through me. When the body of Christ is operating in health and in love, there is no reason for lack.

Prayer

God, thank you for your abundant supply in my life! Thank you that your resources are without measure, and your love for me is without limit. Help me to keep my heart aligned with yours, so that I can be a free-flowing conduit of your blessing instead of a stagnant catchment tank. Help me to notice those around me that you wish to bless through me, so that your abundance can flow in their life also. When I am on the receiving end of that same blessing from others, Help me to be humble so that my pride would cost me the blessings that you wish to give me.

-Trenton Johnson