Matthew 19:29 “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.”

It has become a catch phrase with the “prosperity gospel” crowd, but it is indeed true that you can’t out-give God. The problem with the “prosperity gospel” is that whatever they say, it ends up coming across as giving to get, and that’s not true giving. God’s supply is abundant, and by giving freely we acknowledge that fact. Anything we hold onto, rather than releasing it to God, is a barrier to our fellowship with Him. It’s interesting that Jesus put the most emphasis on giving up our families, even though families are God’s idea and He wants us to bless our families and be blessed by them. That comes into sharp focus when you consider overseas missionaries. My mother was sometimes praised for having “given up so much” to be a missionary, but she said the only thing she really gave up was closeness to family. I can empathize with that! Modern technology has shortened many gaps and bridged others, but there’s still no substitute for playing with my grand kids. I know of numbers of missionaries who have left the field for “family reasons,” and my impression is that it’s seldom what God has in mind. It is when we genuinely release things to God that He gives them back multiplied, or else gives us something much better.

Like my mother, I don’t feel I’ve “given up” much, and I’m already quite sure I’ve received far better than I’ve given. I need to help the believers understand and trust this reality, never “penny pinching” where God is concerned, but not being irresponsible, either. When God asks us to give up something we need to let go of it, no questions asked. That’s far easier to say than to do! I am faced with issues all the time where it is hard to let go of control (as I see it emotionally) and let God work His will in and through me. That’s a big part of the instructions in Isaiah 40:31 to wait in hope on the Lord. It is only when we trust Him enough to let go of the steering wheel that we receive the abundance of everything we need that He has planned for us.

I’m certainly having a training session in waiting on the Lord right now! Because of getting no sleep at all last night, (long story) the temptation is just to relax and essentially give up, but that’s not operating in the fullness of the Holy Spirit, or even in the fulness of how we are to relate to one another. Father, I ask You to take me by the hand and guide me as You know I need to be guided, so that I won’t place anything above You, but gladly let go of everything for You to use it for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!