By Linda Veath Cox
A missed opportunity. A chance to “give” knocked at my door and I closed the door in its face.
I let concerns for my financial situation keep me from helping someone. I grabbed tightly to my money with a clenched fist. And in closing my hand, I let the devil steal my joy—the joy of sharing with another person. So much for a cheerful giver.
But I also let something else happen. I let the devil steal another person’s joy as well. A gift that not only would have helped them financially would have also reminded them of God’s love and provision.
How often do we miss opportunities like this? WE KNOW everything we have is from God. WE KNOW He will provide for us. WE KNOW that the same God who gave His Son to die on the cross for us will surely give us everything we need.
Yet as frail human beings we worry about whether we’ll have enough for tomorrow, for the week, for the month, for the year. The fear of being without drives us to clench our fists tighter and tighter around what we have. And by not being thankful to the Lord for what we have, we walk right into the devil’s trap and he gleefully steals our joy—the joy of doing something TODAY when opportunity knocks.
The New Living Translation of 2 Corinthians 9:8 speaks to us of God’s promise to take care of ALL our needs, including a glimpse of why:
God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have
everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.
When we quit grasping and open our hands in generosity, we are also opening our hearts to the Lord. And He will surely fill them with His blessings. Whether it’s money, time, or other resources—whatever blessings we receive from Him are given so that we can use them to bless others. For it’s not in the abundance that we have but in what we do with what we have—whether much or little—that brings praise to our Lord.
May we open our hearts and our hands so that we don’t miss the opportunities God gives to us each day.
Linda Veath Cox is a regular contributor to DivineDetour. She recently retired after twenty-five years as a district office secretary for the State of Illinois. Her first loves are studying the Bible and reading, but she occasionally tries her hand at writing. Her work is published in All My Bad Habits I Learned from Grandpa (Thomas Nelson), The One-Year Life Verse Devotional (Tyndale), Life Lessons from Grandparents (Write Integrity), Love Is a Verb (a devotional from Bethany House), and Chicken Soup for the Soul’s I Can’t Believe My Dog Did That. She lives in a small town in the Midwest with the “Bone Mafia,” her two indoor/outdoor mutts.