Where Giving Grows
Well now, friend, come on up here on this ol’ front porch like you are stepping into a country yard where the clothesline is flappin’ a welcome and the smell of fresh cornbread drifts out the kitchen window like it has been hollerin’ your name all afternoon. Land sakes, I am glad you made it. If you were any more welcome, the porch rooster that struts around like he owns the whole place would march right over and offer you his best tail feather. Pull up a chair, friend, because we are about to wander into a truth that is sturdier than a fence post sunk deep in good Texas dirt and brighter than sunlight glintin’ off a tin roof after a summer rain.
Proverbs 11:25 tells us, “A generous person will prosper. Whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.” Some folks live with a “sit on the lid” mindset. They gather, hoard, stash, and stack until their closets look fuller than a squirrel’s winter pantry. They convince themselves they might need it someday, even though someday never seems to show up. And the tighter they grip, the emptier they feel. It’s plum like tryin’ to hold water in a clenched fist. The more you squeeze, the less you keep.
But Scripture tells a real different story. God designed the world to give. The sun gives light. The moon gives reflection. The stars give their glow. The earth gives harvest. Everything God made is wired for generosity. And He calls us to live the same way. “Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days” (Ecclesiastes 11:1). Giving is not loss. It’s downright plantin’.
And the Lord deepens this here truth with another verse. “The liberal soul shall be made fat” (Proverbs 13:4). God blesses the open hand. He fills what we pour out. He refreshes those who refresh others.
The irony is that generosity don’t drain you. It plum revives you. It sho’-nuff’ steadies you. It downright grows you. When you give, you discover that God keeps refillin’ what you release. You were not made to hoard. You were made to give.
Father, thank You for being a generous God. Help me open my hands, loosen my grip, and give with joy. Teach me to trust Your provision and reflect Your nature. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Alright then, friend, may the Lord stir generosity in your heart today with the cheerful boldness of a blue jay that found a fresh patch of berries. Let His kindness rise in you like warm sunlight slipping through a stand of tall pines. And may His goodness settle over your spirit like soft rain fallin’ on a thirsty field. Wherever your day carries you, let His hope warm your heart like cornbread fresh out of the oven.. Go on now, friend, and give the way He made you to give.
With joy,
Gwen
