“…so I will save you, that you may be a blessing…”  Zechariah 8:13

Early this year, the Lord laid it on my heart to stop asking Him for stuff. As a matter of fact, on January 24, 2015, I published a Blog titled, “Stuff.” I was instructed to simply ask God to make me a blessing. The one thing that seemed obvious to me was that I could not be a blessing except I first be blessed. When the Lord called Abraham out from among his kinsmen, one of the promises He made to Abraham was that, “I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing.” Genesis 12:2.

As I began to pray and ask the Lord to make me a blessing, He began to direct me to sow seeds. I blessed whomever He led me to. It was not always money, sometimes it was my support of another person’s vision, other times it was with words of encouragement, and oftentimes it was with prayer. (“A man reaps what he sows.” Galatians 6:7).

In April, God laid it on my heart to give/sow more. The Lord showed me that I had been obedient in my giving but I had a limit on it. I had mastered giving a particular amount that did not cause me to wince, but then God laid an amount ten times more. Of course, I asked, “How can I give that?” He answered me, “You cannot do it relying on your resources, but if you would live out of my hands where there are unlimited resources, you can.” (“And my God will liberally supply – fill until full – your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19).

In that moment, I understood why the Lord prompted me to give more. He wanted to show me that even in my being obedient and giving, I was yet relying on my resources: my money; my bank account; and what I thought I could afford to give. I was not relying on Him as my source. Yes I was obeying Him, but at my comfort level. God wanted me to get beyond the choking point of giving which would require solely depending upon and trusting in His abundant supply. (“And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” 2 Corinthians 9:8).

Another critical aspect of living out of God’s hands is that I had to look only to Him for my return. If I was giving with the expectation of receiving anything back from the ones I sowed into, then I was not sowing. I was either lending or making an investment. Remember the scripture states, “A man reaps what he sows,” not what he lends or invests. The Lord is the one that rewards and repays. (He that comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Hebrews 11:6). After all, it is His Hand that I am living out of.

“No good thing will He withhold…” Psalm 84:11