“God is able to make it up to you by giving you everything you need and more so that there will not only be enough for your own needs but plenty left over to give joyfully to others.” 2 Corinthians 9:8 (TLB)
I heard a story about a man who took his son to McDonald’s and bought him super-size French fries. On the way home, he reached over and took one little French fry and ate it. His son got upset and said, “Dad, you can’t have that. These are my fries!” The dad immediately had three thoughts:
“First, my child has forgotten that I am the source of all fries. I took him to McDonald’s, I paid for the order, I gave them to him, and I’m driving him back home. The only reason he got any fries was because of me, the Great Fry Giver!
“Second, my child doesn’t realize I could take the fries away in a second if I wanted to. Or I could buy him an entire truckload of fries if I wanted to, because I have the power to do either.
“Third, I didn’t need his fries. I could easily get my own. I could buy myself a hundred cartons of them if I wanted to. I just wanted him to learn to be unselfish.”
Those three lessons are the same ones God wants you to learn so that you can be generous with other people. First, God wants you to remember that he is the source of everything you’ve got. You would have nothing—you wouldn’t even be alive!—if it weren’t for God. Second, God could take it all away from you in an instant, or he could double it, because he’s got the power. Third, God doesn’t need your money. He just wants you to learn to be unselfish and develop your faith.
What happens when you start becoming a more generous person? “God is able to make it up to you by giving you everything you need and more so that there will not only be enough for your own needs but plenty left over to give joyfully to others” (2 Corinthians 9:8 TLB).
If you will practice generosity, God will give you everything you need plus more so you’ll have enough to share with other people. He’s looking for a channel like a straw, and when he finds it—someone who’s willing to say, “God, use me to be a blessing to other people”—he just starts pouring blessing straight through it.
If you will learn to be generous, God will bless you more than you can imagine!
PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick
Talk It Over
How does the way you treat and use your possessions and resources reflect your understanding that everything you have belongs to God?
If God were to take everything away from you today, how would you respond?
What can you do to give generously to someone or something this week?
This devotional © 2023 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
God doesn’t need your money. He just wants you to learn to be generous, become more like him, and develop your faith. Learn what God does when you give generously in today’s #DailyHope devotional.
Rick Warren Bio
Rick Warren is the founding pastor of Saddleback Church, one of America’s largest and most influential churches. Pastor Rick is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Purpose Driven Life. His book The Purpose Driven Church was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the 20th century. Pastor Rick created The PEACE Plan to address the five global giants—spiritual emptiness, self-serving leadership, poverty, disease, and illiteracy—through the power of ordinary people in the local church. His Daily Hope broadcast and daily devotionals are offered around the world. You can listen to the broadcast or sign up for the free devotionals at PastorRick.com.
Tags
40 Days of Community – 2023, Community, Giving, Character, Gratitude, Spiritual Growth, Blessing, Faith, 2 Corinthians 9
Broadcast Series: 40 Days of Community – 2023
Sermon Series: 40 Days of Community
Sermon: 016206_Living a Generous Life
