His Joy In Giving
“ Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy.” 1 Timothy 6:17 NKJV
God wants us to enjoy every good thing that He has for us. We often think that we have to force God to bless us. We wrongly suppose that if we are less than perfect in our walk with Him we cannot expect Him to pour out His blessing upon us. In fact, we also think that He will be miserly in dispensing good things to our lives. That is the entirely wrong picture of the Lord and His nature. The gospel writer Luke says that it is His good pleasure to give us the things of the kingdom. He takes pleasure in giving to us and He takes pleasure in our receiving that which He has given. That is the heart of our Lord.
Somehow we have developed this mentality that says if we do not force God to do what His Word says, He will not just do it. We’ve become trained to see our heavenly Father as reluctant to do good and that is a very sad perception because it is the antithesis of who He is. He is a giver by nature. He gave everything to us, even giving His very best by giving His Son Jesus as a sacrifice for our sin. Certainly, He was not compelled to do that, He gave out of love. Love is His motivation and that is what we should see as we receive every good thing He has prepared for us.
Here is another improper image that we have come to believe. We think that it is somehow wrong for us to enjoy the good things God has prepared for us. We feel undeserving of anything He would give us and so we are hesitant to receive what He has for us. This awareness compounds our feelings that we have earned nothing, so how can we justify receiving His good things in our life?
You are right to assume that we have earned nothing and could never do anything at all to earn any blessing or favor from the Lord. Thankfully, He gives to us not because we earn it, but because He takes joy in giving. According to the verse above, He gives richly to you all things to enjoy. He has so much for each of us and a grateful heart should receive it all not based on our good efforts, but because we understand that in the richness of His love. He gives to you what you could never earn yourself. He has given you so much, now richly enjoy it.
J Todd Hostetler