Filled With Plenty

A recent “In Touch” article touched upon trust with finances. The devotional included:

"Although we know what the Lord has said, the thought of giving that way can cause anxiety about not having enough. Then, there may be a temptation to replace God’s plan with our own because His feels so uncertain. We should be careful not to let fear override faith. The problem is not with the Lord’s plan but, rather, with unbelief. Fear reveals doubt that God can do what He has said He will do. In today’s Scripture verses, the Lord promises to provide all that is needed if we will honor Him with the first part of our wealth."

The scripture reference used was:

Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine. (Proverbs 3:9-10 KJV)

On a fixed income it stands to reason that we’d need to look first for our own medical needs, wouldn’t it? If we don’t take care of ourselves, we not much good to others, right?

Trust me – it doesn’t work well that way. We have always done well when we depend on the Lord, and not so well when we thought we had a better grasp of our finances than He did.

We are now living an example of His care. That fixed income does allow for emergencies – but they have to be paid over quite a length of time. Unfortunately, Beloved Husband’s hearing aids have begun to fail. His last adjustment was almost a year ago and the technician said then that new ones would be needed in the future, as adjustments just wouldn’t provide what was needed.

So begins the task of setting back funding this unexpected cost – these are NOT inexpensive! Much slower than we had expected, and the cost would include putting off some things we really would enjoy. Surely, if we redirected our tithe it would happen much sooner, right? Refer again to the above verse.

So, we continued returning our substance to the Lord to honor Him. And He provided!! At age 67, in an economy where millions are out of work, I have a job well suited to my abilities – part time, no career to be of concern. BH will have his hearing aids much sooner; the increase will add tithes to our mission needs. If not barns, at least my pantry will be filled with plenty our “presses” will burst forth with fresh drink.

It’s good advice even when we’re not in need – perhaps, especially when we’re not in need?

Honour the LORD (Proverbs 3:9a KJV)