Do You Give With A Spirit That Is Willing?

Faith Filled Thoughts
August 15th, 2008
By Connie Ciccone
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Do You Give With A Spirit That Is Willing?



Scripture: Exodus 35:21 "They came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, and they brought the Lord's offering ..."

When Moses instructed the congregation of the Israelites to bring offerings for the tabernacle he gave them two criteria to meet in their giving. He said, "Your own heart must stir you to give and your own spirit must make you willing to give." There is no gift that is too small for the Lord to receive, but the only gift that is acceptable to God is the one that comes from a willing heart. God despises our works of kindness when we do them grudgingly only because our heart saw a need or when we were pressured to give because everyone else was giving. He emphasized that when we do feel stirred to give, He also wants our hearts to be willing, for He hates to hear us complain about our own personal sacrifice when we are doing a good deed or giving an offering to Him.

I saw an elderly lady who was walking in the drizzling rain and carrying packages. I assumed that she lived in my neighborhood so I stopped to offer her a ride even though I was in a terrible hurry because I had an appointment to meet. She smiled with relief as she got into the dry car, but my thoughts of "doing a good deed for Jesus" suddenly changed to "I am already late, what on earth was I thinking." As it turned out, she did not live in my neighborhood and could only speak a few words of English. Furthermore, she did not want to be taken to her home nearby, she wanted to go to the bus station and said that she would direct me on how to get there. The problem was that the path she wanted me to take was not accessible for auto traffic. What I had thought would only take a few minutes had turned into a nightmare and time was getting short. I followed her directions as she pointed, and after going around several of the businesses and hotel parking lots I was finally able to get her close enough that she could walk across the grass to the bus station.

While I was trying to make my way through the maze of this dilemma, the Lord began to show me something. The lady could see me smiling on the outside but God could hear my complaining heart on the inside. God let me know that even though my heart had been stirred to give this lady a ride, my spirit was only willing to cooperate if it was convenient. My good deed for Him was being rejected because my spirit was not right. He didn't want me to just give, but to give with a cheerful heart. Through the Lord's tender rebuke, I discovered that it was more important for me to do His will regardless of the cost, than it was for me to be on time for an insignificant event. We are very eager to commit our hearts to God and to love and serve Him. Yet, we must understand that we cannot offer God our hearts without giving Him eyes to see the needs of others, our hands to help them do what needs to be done, our feet to go where He leads, and our mouths to speak words of encouragement. The Lord requests an offering from us, but He not only wants it delivered with a heart that is stirred to give but also a spirit that is willing.
May He Bless You and Keep You Today!

With Great Love
IN HIS SERVICE
Connie