Reading: Luke 20, Psalm 37:21

The wicked borrows and does not repay,

But the righteous shows mercy and gives.

Generosity is a core character trait of our heavenly Father. He is a God who delights in giving extravagantly to His children. Like a loving parent to their child, the Lord gives to us without conditions, and for the sheer pleasure of seeing us delighted. As children made in His image, we too carry the generous nature of our Good Father. It's quite literally in our spiritual DNA! The Lord desires for us to live above economic anxieties that plague the world so that we might freely receive what we need from God and to freely give to meet the needs of others.

Unfortunately, our minds have been conditioned by this world to be competitive, stingy, fearful, and withholding. The economic systems of our age are rooted in greed, injustice, deception, and unhealthy competition. Our culture puts a higher value on accumulating net worth and power than on caring for people. Too often acts of public generosity are made to gain personal attention - and with an expectation for something in return.

For many believers, their desire to give generously is overridden by fears that they will not have enough and they cling to what they have. The fear of lack drives many of the vices we see in our culture like gambling, shoplifting, scamming, and hoarding. Those who act like this will never experience the long-term favor or blessing of the Lord. Nor will It ever satisfy your new nature in Christ. You were literally born again with the generous spirit of your heavenly Father. And He is a God of abundant provision.

Psalm 37:21 compares the withholding behaviors of the unrighteous with the open handed generosity of the righteous. When we put away the fearful, stingy and money-grubbing spirit of this world and begin to behave as stewards of HIs material things, giving and receiving will become a joyful and natural thing. When we give in obedience to scripture and the Holy Spirit’s leading, we open our entire lives to the favor and blessing of the Lord.

The Dead Sea has no life because it only has an inlet but no outlet. Anything we try to cling to will become stagnant and corrupted. When we release the generosity of God our stagnant waters begin to flow and the seas of our financial life come alive again. By giving joyously to the Lord’s work and to those in need, we demonstrate the Spirit of our Father. Our giving becomes a witness to the world and testifies to the amazing generosity of our heavenly Father. And it opens our lives to a fresh inflow of God’s life-giving provision. Because He has more than enough.

Write a prayer in your journal asking the Holy Spirit to show you where fear has kept you stagnant in your life. What things are you hanging on to that you know in your heart you need to release?
Then confess out loud these words from Psalm 37:

“I resist fear and rebuke the spirit of poverty over my life in the Name of Jesus! I am God’s righteous child. I show mercy and give generously - just like my Father in heaven. The Lord is my Provider - I will not not fear. He will meet ALL my needs abundantly - according to His riches in Glory, by Christ Jesus my Lord.”

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