Challenge: Open Hands

And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.  Phil 4:19 NASB

This is another verse that I just love to snatch up and claim.  I definitely have needs, and at times they are pretty daunting.  Doug and I just can’t figure out how to provide those needs, especially the big ones that really tower over us.  But, God owns it all, right?  We’re His children, right?  So, He’s going to take care of us!  Yes!  I like that!

But again, context is critical.  No, I am not saying that God’s provision is not a certainty.  But, the context of this verse does not deal with God openly and freely providing.  It deals with provision as a result of sacrificial giving to provide someone else’s needs.

The Philippians had seen Paul’s need, even when he wasn’t ministering directly to them.  Wherever he was, they took it upon themselves to care for him.  And I believe it was sacrificial. 

When I am in need myself, I want to cling to all I have.  I want to ration and preserve.  I don’t know when or how the provision is going to come, so I have to stretch what is available to make sure we’re covered until the provision arrives.  It’s just not a great time to be generous.

Then again, when is there a better time to be generous?  To have open hands, sacrificially giving that someone else might have, even not knowing how much we ourselves will have to do without.  If I do it in plenty, I am just sharing of my excess, and there is no need to rely on God to subsequently provide my need.  It’s provided from my plenty.  But, if I give from my own want, in my own time of need, then there is much opportunity to trust God’s supply and provision.

I am challenged to have open hands – tempered with wisdom, of course, but not tempered by my own needs.  I have no idea how that will flesh out, and frankly the thought scares me more than just a little bit.  But, that is my challenge, and I am praying God will open my eyes regarding how to implement that challenge.