Lesson Four • Give
Devotion #6: Faithful and Trustworthy
Pastor Ben Kirkman
“And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19
The privilege of giving back to the Lord some of what He has given to me was instilled in me by my parents as far back as my memories go. I remember getting birthday and Christmas money and setting aside a portion of it to put in the offering that next Sunday. I even remember being five or six years old and committing to giving ten cents every week to the missionaries our church supported. At the end of that year, it was so neat to see how my little ten-cent offering every week added up to over five dollars!
I am very thankful that I was taught as a child how important and wonderful it is to give to the Lord. I was taught to give willingly, cheerfully, and sacrificially. When your annual income as a five-year-old is like twenty bucks, I would say giving five dollars is pretty sacrificial. Honestly though, my parents did a great job of helping me give in a way that I was not resentful or secretly upset about. My mom and dad both modeled and explained to me the reality that everything I had and was, was a gift from the Lord. Every breath I took was given to me by God; my talents and abilities were all from Him. All that I had, He actually had given to me, so then why would I not joyfully give some of it back to Him?
I mentioned that my parents modeled what they taught. I watched them give consistently. No matter how tight things were financially, I know they sacrificially and joyfully gave to the Lord. I lived with them, I heard their conversations, I saw how much they put into the offering, and their faithfulness to give did not surprise me one bit. I knew their character and their strong confidence in the promise that Paul had given to the faithful givers of Philippi. Philippians 4:19 says, “And my God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” They knew the Lord called them to give, how the Lord wanted them to give, and that when they gave that way they could be confident He would provide for all of their needs. They knew God’s resources in Christ Jesus were unlimited and they could confidently give.
As I was writing this, so many incredible stories of God making good on His promise and providing for my family in almost unbelievable ways flooded my memory. It was a wonderful reminder to me that God is good, faithful, and trustworthy!