A friend gave me a devotional by Patricia Raybon for Christmas. I’m not much of a devotional person, I’m more of a jump-to-my-own conclusions person haha. But this devotional has been a nice calm to the beginning of my day.
The week on Generosity really hit me. Messages on finances really get to me, maybe because I’ve struggled in trusting in the past, or because I had great faith in the past, or because I love giving especially when it seems like it’s the most foolish decision ever. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not perfect in this area; in fact the moments of faith for this are few and far between. But I think this topic is especially pertinent to creatives, freelancers, and entrepreneurs who have no guarantee of regular income…yikes!
Despite my on-again off-again study of this topic, Raybon had a couple amazing points I hadn’t thought about that change my perspective on giving.
- Generosity is about courage more than about giving. It’s not about giving where it’s easy, it’s about trusting that you can continually give lavishly and have enough. No matter your income. She pointed out that all of nature survives off an endless cycle of giving…how beautiful!
- Referencing John 3:16, Raybon noted that we should give as God gives. Did He only give to people He could trust with His gift? No. He gave His son to the “ungrateful, selfish, sinful, disappointing world.” I want to give like that, not constantly worrying about what a person would do with it, just giving with trust and hope. “When they’re at their worst, we can give our best.” Not taking into account whether the receiver will be responsible with the gift, but taking into account the need and having grace.
Here’s to growing in generosity, faith, courage, trust, and grace as God continues to work on my heart.
