Sunday, March 1, 2009

Listen and Give Generously

"The Righteous Give without Sparing, he who has, receives even more" ~ Proverbs

Have you ever thought you were hearing and obeying God, yet the results appeared opposite of what you believed God promised you?

I visited with a friend, Gene, concerning a scenario he recently encountered. Gene is a contract worker; he places and submits bids to committees, they compare his offerings and bid versus his competitors. Gene placed a bid, confident in the attainment, he knew his service matched exactly what the committee was seeking and he heard the still small voice of the Holy Spirit speak to him. The voice assured him he would, after tithing and setting a portion for savings; pay for half of a long-term debt from the money with the accepted bid.

Gene recognized the voice of the Holy Spirit from numerous conversations; including hundreds of definitive affirmations throughout his life. Gene continually thanked the Lord in prayers and thanksgiving for the opportunity and the income. The committee delayed their decision, initially promised in a week, to five weeks. Before receiving a reply, Gene once again heard the Holy Spirit instruct him to increase his tithe and offering an additional twenty percent (20%). Gene believes in tithing (10%) all gross income, including all travel expense reimbursements, such as meals and hotels.


He believes God’s anointing of this money and activities are equally important as any other income he receives. The voice assured him this obedience would result in the promised income, paying half of a debt.

Absent human logic and drastically tightening his budget, Gene responded in obedience. Gene’s obedient actions produced the overwhelming Peace of God surpassing all human understanding. Conversely, his checkbook indicated a lack of prudence. Have you had this experience? A few days later, Gene received the phone call he had been expecting for a month from the committee chairwoman rewarding the contracts. However, the response contradicted the promise of the voice Gene obeyed. A competitor received the contract, not Gene.

How would you respond? Naturally, Gene was disappointed; he lacked understanding of this apparent failing. Did he miss diagnose the source of the voice? Did he only respond in partial obedience to the voice? While lacking the answers, he praised God for the opportunity, continually requesting additional wisdom. Two weeks later, Gene received his statement of his long-term debt. The account statement displayed an anonymous payment, equaling the precise amount promised Gene from the voice of the Holy Spirit. Gene did correctly understand his financial needs are met as promised by the Holy Spirit, once again he did correctly hear the voice of God. Has this ever occurred to you?

Gene’s only error came in the logic of needing the contract before receiving the money. Why does God work this way, instead of simply rewarding Gene the contract? God’s wisdom is infinitely greater than ours! The possibilities are endless. God reminded Gene to always trust Him to supply his needs. God’s actions often exceed the correlation of our human logic. When you fail to receive a pray request, explore deeply. Is God answering you, meeting your needs differently than you envision.

I shared this story of Gene, with permission, with my friend Chuck. Chuck related the experience of adopting their daughter several years ago. The need originated for additional funds beyond the stated amount for the adoption. Chuck related he and his wife were disappointed, especially since they were unaware of how to attain the additional monies. He responded the only way he knew, praying to Jesus Christ, listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit, they doubled their offering. An abundance of money poured in, the adoption complete.

Listen to the Lord, tune in to His voice. Be obedient and faithful, He will fulfill His promises in your life.

Make it a Great Day in Christ!
Rick

Rick Meyer Speaking

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