Experience God as Your Provider by Brian Kluth

Author:Brian Kluth [Kluth, Brian]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-57567-592-3
Publisher: Moody Publishers
Published: 2010-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

I do tell people that systematically and faithfully giving 10 percent or more to God is the starting block, not the finish line.

“Well, that’s not what the pastor told me.”

“What did the pastor tell you?”

The pastor in question was sitting at the end of the table. This woman pointed at him and said, “He told me that as long as I wanted to give, I didn’t have to actually give.”

I turned to the pastor and asked him, “What are your thoughts?”

Suddenly a bit on the defensive, he replied, “Well, she’s obviously very poor, is on welfare, and can’t afford to give, so I don’t think she should be expected to give.”

“Pastor,” the woman replied, “I am not a second-class Christian. Don’t make me one. I now realize that if God has given me food stamps, then I’m going to somehow give from the food I get with my food stamps. If God has given me rental assistance, I’m going to somehow share my home.”

The pastor, who meant well, got converted on the spot to understanding the grace of giving. That woman began to give to God, and soon she had stories of God’s grace all over her life. In the coming months, He provided her with work, with her own home, with various creative provisions that met her needs. She was now well on her journey to experiencing the supernatural grace of giving (and receiving) in her life as she discovered God as her Provider.

Jesus said we can only serve one master—God or money (Matthew 6:24). How we handle money is a leading spiritual indicator of our faith. If we hold tightly to “our” money, it’s a clear sign of spiritual trouble—like a warning light on the car dashboard. If this chapter makes you uneasy and uncomfortable, please sit up and take notice. The warning light is on. You likely have been missing out on God’s best for you. He wants to help you learn to become a generous person and to experience more of His grace in your life.

One man said, “Until I learned to give to God, I was only playing church.” He’s right. If we’re unwilling to give to God first as our highest financial priority, what makes us think we are really trusting God with our lives. We reap only what we sow (Galatians 6:7). How many people are merely filling pews in America today, playing church, because they’ve not learned how to honor God with what He has given them?

Someone experiencing a tough financial time recently told me, “We decided that when we get paid, the first check we write is to the Lord. We’re not going to be sloppy. We want to honor the Lord with what He’s given us even though our income has gone down.” He is a world-class giver. Are you? Do you want to become one? In Genesis 28, Jacob was running away from home. He had a brother who had threatened to murder him, he had no job, he had no money, no possessions, and a very uncertain and scary future.

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