Giving

Question:



I am now 21 and have been faithfully walking with God since April, 2010. It has been a struggle and I have been spiritually attacked. However, I refuse to go back to my old ways. I have faith in God and will continue forward with my walk. Each day try harder to break an old habit. When I am giving, since I am in a very bad financial situation and I use to be very selfish, I feel like I can't give anymore. I probably could but it might hurt this situation more. These ideas have been running through my head. Is this normal? Should I listen to them? Should I ignore them and give anyway trusting in God that this is what I'm suppose to do? Could you please help me out? Thank you so much for your time.



Answer:



I can definitely see where this would make you want to go crazy. But in order to walk through this you have to have His perspective on what it means to give. The confusion comes in when we mix what He asks of us with our heart in what we choose to give Him. The nature of giving is very simple. It is much like the way He intends for His children to walk with Him. We become His children when we receive Jesus and what He did to save us from our sins as the only way to Heaven and not to trust anything we can do on our own. We walk with Him on a daily basis when we let go of our own attempts to follow Him and let Him teach us what it means to walk with Him, and then respond in obedience.

The way that He desires that we give is not by giving all that we have in hopes of "attaining" selflessness. He desires that we hold up to Him all that we have and keep in close communion with Him. When He prompts us to give is when we should respond. Trying to manufacture it on your own will only bring confusion.


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