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“Freely you have received, freely give.”

Matthew 10:8b

There is no room for misers in God’s kingdom. When we begin to struggle in giving what we have to others, we have forgotten where we received our possessions. Every good thing we have ever received has come from God (James 1:17). All that we have acquired has been dependent upon His grace (1 Cor. 4:7). Job accurately summarized our condition: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21). We easily assume a sense of ownership of our possessions, as if they were things we earned ourselves, thereby giving us a right to them. 

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And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God in the law and in the commandment, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart. So he prospered.

2 Chronicles 31:21

There is a way to ensure that you prosper in what you do: serve the Lord with all your heart! Hezekiah, king of Judah, lived in a dangerous and tumultuous time. He faced powerful enemies. Idolatry was the popular religion of the day. His parents had rejected God and encouraged people to worship other gods (2 Chron. 28). Hezekiah had the opportunity to reject God as well, yet he chose to serve God with all of his heart. He did everything in his power to promote worship of the true God. 

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Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you; but I will teach you the good and the right way.

1 Samuel 12:23

It can be tempting at times to give up on God’s people! We are so imperfect and can be so sinful, yet we are His people. Samuel had thoroughly warned the Israelites of the dangers in appointing a king over Israel. Yet they wanted to be like the nations around them, insisting that they were willing to pay any price. Almost as soon as the people were granted their desire, they recognized their sin. But it was too late. What was Samuel to do? They had ignored his warnings. 

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“What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit, and all the people stand before you from morning until evening?”

Exodus 18:14

In our zeal to please God and advance His kingdom, we Christians often take on responsibilities God never intended us to have. One of the great challenges of the Christian life is determining what God does not want us to do! Sometimes our good intentions cause more harm than good. Moses was aware of the need for someone to settle disputes among the Israelites. Someone had to help those former slaves learn how to live together as the people of God, so Moses took it upon himself to meet this need. Long lines of unhappy people, hoping to have their cases heard, stood before Moses each day.

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The Lord is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.

2 Chronicles 15:2

Our response to God greatly determines His presence in our lives. If we seek God with all of our hearts, then we will find Him (Jer. 29:13–14). The Lord wants to have fellowship with us, but He will not force a relationship upon us. We cannot reject fellowship with God and expect Him to remain near. He does not merely follow us throughout our day in case we need His assistance. If we continue to forsake Him, a time will come when we desperately need Him and He will not be near (Isa. 59:1–2). It is an affront to a sovereign God to treat Him like a servant who should wait upon us. 

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