LOVE BETTER CAMP

by Linda Dominique Grosvenor
www.LindaDominiqueGrosvenor.com

Some of us can’t take a good deed or a compliment to save our lives. We can’t. We always find a way to make ourselves look unworthy or make it seem like we don’t deserve what we have been blessed with and at times even outright refuse the offer that was made to assist us despite our dire need. I used to be like that. I’ve always been a “giver” and was uncomfortable feeling like someone was giving me their last to fill up my gas tank, or like they are going out of their way spending part of their rent money to bless my ministry. But I had no problem giving my last and putting off a bill to help someone else out of a jam. It took a long time for me to learn that God alone is supply. If God instructs me to give to someone else, be it money or time–He replenishes that which I gave. But the part that I omitted or failed to see was that if God instructs someone else to give to me it’s the same thing–He replenishes that which they gave. As children of God we need to stop blocking each other’s blessings and standing in the way of our brothers and sisters seeing that God is supply or can be supply even in “their” situation.

How do you stop doing that? When God instructs someone to bless you–LET THEM! You won’t know who it is God is sending, but we can’t be so comfortable with giving and then have a genuine need and want to suffer in silence through it just so nobody else will know. Our God has more order to our existence than that. So many times we are in need and we speak to God and ask Him to send help. That help doesn’t always come the way we think it should come. It won’t always come as a mysterious check in the mail just so we can keep our pride intact and won’t have to say that someone else helped us out of a financial dilemma. The key is that when we pray, God meets that need however “He” deems necessary and then that means that He sometimes sends someone bearing the “gift” or thing we need. When we refuse it, we are saying, “No thank you!” not just to the person whose heart God touched and sent over to meet our need, but we are saying, “No thank you!” to THE ONE WE ASKED TO HELP US! In our Christian walk, we have to learn how to love fearlessly. We have to stop thinking that God will keep a running tab on everything He’s done for us and will one day require us to pay it all back with interest. God is not like that and we shouldn’t let our pride trick us into believing that.

We don’t have to know what God’s plan is. Sometimes He won’t share that with us. Sometimes God simply needs to show a double lesson–meeting our financial need and increasing another’s obedience. If we are the one in a financial need and we refuse the blessing, we then need to realize that we’ve also cheated the other person out of learning their lesson in obedience too. Pride is tricky because it can have you blocking blessings left and right. It will have you wondering who that person will tell that they helped you with your car payment. Pride will have you wondering if they are text messaging members of your congregation to tell them that they just stopped by your house with groceries because you didn’t have any food to feed your children. Pride will tell you that people are looking at you funny and know your situation–and if they do–SO WHAT! The next time someone does something nice for you, remember they don’t have to preface it with, “God told me to…” for you to readily accept it. Just crucify your pride (flesh) and accept the blessing! 2 Corinthians 9:7 says, “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.” (KJV). God loves a giver and trust me the Word urges us to be thankful Christians too, especially when someone has gone out of their way to offer to assist us. Just receive them, let them do the good deed, be thankful and fall down on your knees and thank God. In this life, sometimes we’re the giver, but there are times that we will need to be the recipient. No matter which end of the spectrum you find yourself on, remember, it doesn’t make you more or less than, because whatever the issue or circumstance, He gets all of the glory anyway, every single, solitary time.