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If you missed Part 1 of this answer, please go back and read it as a background for my continuing response.
I believe we should give generously and cheerfully. I believe we should give not because we have to, but because we love Christ! Attitude when we give is always more important than the amount we give. Obedience always follows love! Simply stated, I believe that God honors giving. He gives us resources to use and invest for Him. Paul uses the illustration of seeds to explain that the resources God gives us are not to be hidden, foolishly devoured or thrown away, but cultivated in order to produce more crops. When we invest what God has given us in His work, He will provide us with even more to give. We all understand that we won't reap if we don't sow. If we plow and don't plant, we won't reap!
However, along with finances, Paul emphasizes spiritual rewards for those who give generously to God's work. We should not expect to become wealthy through giving. Those who receive our gifts will be helped, will praise God, and will pray for us. As we bless others, we are blessed!
Now, back to the foreclosure and unemployment. How do we incorporate these realities into the before-mentioned verses of Scripture? I believe that giving to God does place a protective bond around our lives. However, we live in a world where inequities abound. Many things that happen to us in life are unfair. The important thing, and I believe the overriding principle for believers to remember, is that giving to God assures that we will not be "devoured."
People of all ages, races and descriptions suffer loss of properties and things every day. But God still causes us to triumph! Obviously, losing a house or a job is a very heart-rending, difficult thing. However, there are worse things that can happen to a believer. During times of loss, I believe we have to look to God for a deeper interpretation of the facts, and for His grace, which sustains us even in the darkest of times. If we compare our plight to other believers, we may very well become discouraged and bitter. Asking "why" during times of loss is perfectly okay; however, dwelling on the apparent inequity may cause us to stumble in our faith. I believe in the sovereignty of God, which says to me, that no matter what may happen in my life, Jesus is still Lord and He will provide a way of escape.
Sometimes the promises of God do seem to contradict our way of thinking. For example, what about those heroes of the faith in Hebrews 11, who walked in faith and yet did not realize the outcome of promises received? God's promises are unfailing, but His timing is often called into question by we who hold on indefinitely without seeing the results of promises given. God sees the larger picture, so we are called upon to place our total trust and faith in His all-sustaining grace.
May I share a personal struggle I had when a promise in the Scriptures seemed to contradict reality? Psalm 91:11 says, "For He will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways." However, in March, 1995 my in-laws (pastors) were traveling in a foggy rain to visit a man in an Indianapolis hospital. Just outside of Frankfort, another preacher ran a stop sign, resulting in the instant death of my father-in-law and five weeks later my mother-in-law. That accident ushered in some of the most trying days of my life.
What happened seemed to directly contradict the promise of Psalm 91:11. No, I did not get bitter, but I certainly questioned the Lord as to His ways. Is the Bible true? Yes indeed! However, God's ways are above ours; His thoughts are higher than ours. He's sovereign (all-powerful) and we're not. He makes decisions based out of His sovereignty. To us, these times may seem to contradict His Word. Times of inexplicable loss have always plagued the hearts of men. Ask Job!
You have lost your home and your job. I don't know the reasons why, and I would not begin to wax eloquently or even to defend what may appear to be God's indifference. What I do know, however, is that because you have been faithful with your tithes and offerings, God is obligated to fulfill His Word in your lives. What appears to be so unfair and contradictory in the scheme of life and God's promises, I believe, will "produce for [you] an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal" (2 Corinthians 4:17-18).
This is not "preacher talk," but if we obsess over the inequities and all the unfair things that happen to us in this life, we could very well jeopardize our faith and become cynical, even bitter. Let me encourage you to look ahead and believe that God has placed a "replacement clause" in your life. Job came out on top and you will, too! Keep tithing. Keep giving offerings as He directs. And know that in the future you have every right to make heavenly withdrawals because you have made earthly deposits. Let me know how God turns your circumstances around for your good and His glory.
Perhaps you have a question that you'd like for me to address? Send it to me by facebook or email it to: loomisrl@windstream.net.
