Day Eleven. Principle: Surrender
Scripture:
And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God's will. 2 Corinthians 8:5
Thoughts:
As we consider giving, let's not start with our checkbook or our income or even our budgets. Let's start with our hearts. Before we consider how much of our income we will give away this year, let's start with the question, "How much of myself am I going to give to Christ this year?"
Along with this principle of surrender, we need to remember that we are merely stewards of God's resources. We possess nothing. Everything is God's. He has entrusted us with the management of His possessions. To learn more about stewardship, read Matthew 25:14-30.
Consider I Chronicles 29:14: "But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand."
God allows us to give back to Him what is already His. The beginning of the life of stewardship is surrender.
How far will we go in the Realizing the Vision campaign? Will we give God 10%? Will we give Him 25%? Will we give Him 50%? Will we give Him 90%? Or are we going to give 100% of our total selves to God? Before we can give anything financially, we must first give ourselves totally to the Lord.
Reflection:
Are my possessions being used to accomplish God's purposes? Do I have anything that is not available to God's use?
Prayer:
Lord God, I surrender all to you. Loosen my grip on money and things. All that I am and everything that I have is yours.
