Giving From God's Abundance


Understanding God's Design for tithing and giving.



Recently, while reading through Deuteronomy 16, I discovered some fresh Truths regarding giving. Specifically, God's loving design for giving from His abundance...

Giving from God's Abundance - God Loves a Cheerful Giver


Every man shall give as He is able 
according to the blessing of the Lord your God 
that He has given you.
Deuteronomy 16:15

As you read through Deuteronomy 16, you will find the ordinances concerning the Passover meal, the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Booths.  With each command concerning these observances, the Lord built in a remembrance.  The time of the passover supper, sunset, was to serve as a reminder that they came out of Egypt at sunset.  The Feast of Weeks was to serve as a reminder that the Israelites were once slaves in Egypt and to be careful to observe God's statutes.  The Feast of Booths was set aside by the Lord for the Israelites to rejoice and be "altogether joyful" in the produce that the Lord had blessed them with.

Three times a year all your men must appear before the Lord your God at the place he will choose: at the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks and the Festival of Tabernacles. No one should appear before the Lord empty-handed:  Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the Lord your God has blessed you.
Deuteronomy 16:16-17

This wasn't the first time in Deuteronomy that rejoicing and sacrificial giving are mentioned in the same breath.  In fact, it seems to be a continual theme - and one that it is reiterated in the New Testament.

For God loves a cheerful giver
2 Corinthians 9:7b

When we cheerfully give, we are finding our enjoyment in the Lord.  When we rejoice, we are expressing joy from within.  We are happy in our giving because God is at the center of it.

That which we sacrifice comes from the Lord.  He provides all that we have to sacrifice - not only in a physical sense monetarily or through items that we have, but also at a heart level through our time, spiritual gifts and service.

I want to camp for a few moments on the following verse from Deuteronomy 16:15...

For seven days you shall keep the feast to the Lord your God at the place that the Lord will choose, because the Lord your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you will be altogether joyful.

The Miriam Webster definition of sacrifice is...

: an act of offering to a deity something precious
especially : the killing of a victim on an altar
2 : something offered in sacrifice
3a : destruction or surrender of something for the sake of something else
b : something given up or lost {the sacrifices made by parents}

I don't know about you, but this definition doesn't seem to invoke any feelings of joy.  In fact, taken at face value, this definition conjures up feelings of pain and loss.

Yet the Lord states that we WILL BE altogether joyful when we partake OF the sacrifice.  I will be expanding more upon "partaking of the sacrifice" next week in my post, Eat Your Tithe - Say what??

Giving From God's Abundance - The Pain of Sacrifice which Leads to Joy


For today's blog post, I want to focus more on the pain of the sacrifice which leads to joy.

No One knows more about pain in sacrificial giving than our God and Father.  He sacrificed His one and only Son, so that we who were dead in our trespasses could be alive in Christ Jesus who took the punishment for our sins on the cross at Calvary.

The Lord did that for US!  Let that sink in.

And not only that!  ANYTHING that He asks us to sacrifice, He has given us!  All that we have is basically on loan to us from the Lord.  Although it may feel like it is ours and the pain of sacrificing whatever it might be seems more than we could bear or sometimes sadly, more than we are willing to give, ultimately, ALL that we have is the Lords!

In light of His great eternal sacrifice for us, it seems selfish to hold on so tightly to that which actually already belongs to Him.

And then there are those things, that even in our sinful flesh, we easily sacrifice... that which we do for our children. (I thought it was interesting that the Miriam Webster definition of sacrifice gave the example of "sacrifices made by parents". ) 

Now I realize that sadly there are selfish parents out there who don't sacrifice for their children and my hearts grieve for those kids, but for the most part, I believe that parents are self-sacrificing when it comes to their children.  The dad who gets up at 4 a.m. to bring his son to the ice rink to practice for ice hockey or the single mom who works two jobs so that her child can go to college or the mom who homeschools, sacrificing much of her time, just to name a few.  And then there are those parents who are called to make bigger sacrifices.  The ones who send an adult child into the armed services to serve their country, many times in harms way or the parents who send a child off to the mission field.  I'm sure in both cases their hearts are so heavy to let them go, but they do so joyfully, knowing that their child is serving their country and/or serving the Lord.

Whatever the Lord calls us to sacrifice, in His love and mercy, He has also allowed us to enjoy it.  When we give the gift back to Him, we are expressing our gratitude through the letting go and acknowledging Him in recounting the gift that He blessed us with in the first place.  As a result, we will find that we can rejoice as we let go.  In so doing, we will see that the pain of sacrifice has indeed led to joy.

For similar posts, please click on the following:



May we all give from God's Abundance and be altogether joyful. 

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Comments

  1. So true. There is no true sacrifice without some pain, and yet the pattern of giving has been set for us, and we are privileged to join "the fellowship of his suffering."

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    1. Hi Michele, I love what you said here "the pattern of giving has been set for us". Indeed it has!

      Thanks so much for adding to the conversation and thank you for stopping by. :-)

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  2. Hi, Karen! Thanks for this great post! I am truly amazed each time that I read through the Bible I discover new little nuggets of gold waiting for me there. God's Word is alive and never retunes void.

    Followed you on Instagram.

    Thanks for linking up at InstaEncouragements!

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    1. Hi Patsy, You are very welcome!

      Isn't it wonderful?!

      Thanks so much!

      You are very welcome!

      Delete
  3. Oh, how true! And when we give in light of what HE gave for us, our giving seems so small, doesn't it? We will never be able to repay Him for all He has given to and for us. This was another truth-filled, edifying, uplifting post, dear friend. I am so thankful for your faithfulness to God's call upon your life. I can't wait to read that next post. It sounds SO interesting. I am so blessed by the deep truths God so faithfully pours into you. So very thankful for you, your prayers, and your precious friendship!

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    1. Hi Cheryl! It surely does.

      Awe. Thank you so much for always supporting and encouraging me. And especially for your precious prayers.

      So grateful for your dear friendship. Sending you much love and blessings.

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  4. I don't think most of us know much about sacrificial giving - myself included. Good word. Visiting you today from the let's have coffee link up. laurensparks.net

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    1. Hi Lauren, That is a very true statement.

      I'm so glad you stopped by! :-)

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  5. I'm always amazed in the Old Testament how they disobey, even after they are warned, but God is a loving God and usually finds a way to forgive them many times over. So much in the Bible is over my head, but does seem re-reading helps to make some things more clear. Have a good week.

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    1. Hi Peabea, Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts here. I appreciate them so much!

      You too!

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  6. Finding joy in a sacrifice is one of the mysteries of God's grace and love, isn't it!? Great time of year to be reflecting on this.

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    1. Hi Kym, Indeed! Love how you phrased that!

      Thanks so much for stopping by. :-)

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