Be generous and Cheerful

Be Generous and Cheerful As Christians, we should be generous people, giving whatever we can whenever we can. And that doesn't just mean money, we can give help, encouragement, time, talents and forgiveness.

This means we can't let selfishness get in the way.

A lot of people are stingy, clinging to what they have and afraid to give it up. Others aren't stingy in their actions, but they are stingy in their hearts, giving because they feel obligated, not because they really want to.

But this isn't the way God calls us to give. Second Corinthians 9:7 tells us, "God loves (He takes pleasure in, prizes above other things, and is unwilling to abandon or to do without) a cheerful (joyous, 'prompt to do it') giver whose heart is in his giving."

If you think about it, when we give our lives to God, everything we have is His anyway, it no longer belongs to us.

 We should be givers, using our resources the way He wants us to. Give cheerfully today. It pleases God, and those who give cheerfully are happy, fulfilled, and highly effective.

We often think of trusting God for things we need or want, but a true relationship of trust in God extends beyond trusting Him just to get something. We need to learn to trust Him through the process of attaining those things we desire.

 There was a time in my life when I focused intensely on trusting God for things, saying, 'I want this, God,' and 'I need such-and-such, God.' He began to show me that getting all those things was not the most important issue in my life. He wanted to teach me how to trust Him enough to walk through situations with stability and with a good attitude on a consistent basis.

He needed me to learn that He may not always rescue us when we want to get out of circumstances, but He is always with us as we walk through them. God does not always deliver us from everything when we think He should, but He is always with us. Today, instead of focusing on just the end result, realize that God is with you now. He is near to you, so trust Him to walk with you.

I believe that trusting in Him will free our hearts of so many things,  allowing us to truly be cheerful. And in doing so with a generous heart we can wholeheartedly be generous and cheerful as God intended.