Self-Sufficient In Any Economy
6 “But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.” 2 Corinthians 9:6-8 NKJV
For most of us, finances and money are a complex problem with answers that seem at best elusive to us. Having enough money for today and tomorrow is beyond the grasp of most people and yet the Bible makes it very simple for us if we take the time to read His Word regarding money and apply His simple principles. The Bible speaks a lot about money but if you read nothing beyond these three verses, and apply them to your life, you have enough knowledge to succeed and be a blessing to others as well.
It begins with the simple truth that if you give sparingly (if you are not generous in giving to meet the needs of others and advance the Kingdom of God) you will get back sparingly as well. This verse ties the principle of giving directly to what you get. What that means is all the money that is being entrusted to you from your job and all other resources of getting money in this life are predicated on this one thing, you have to give. No giving leads to no receiving, it is that simple.
However, if we learn to trust not in the cash that we have in our wallet or the bank, but rather we demonstrate our total trust in Jesus to be the supplier of all we need, and if we give generously, then we will walk in the promises of verse 8. God is more than able to provide for you and your needs and when you trust Him and give, He knows that you can be trusted with money and He will entrust to you abundantly. In fact, He has already prepared an abundance for you, but it is up to you to release what He has prepared for you. You release it by giving to help others and to His works. As you give it is then given unto you.
We can get upset with Jesus for not meeting our needs as we think He should but the truth is that He has already provided an abundance for us and it is now up to us to lay hold of it. How much has He already prepared for you? Verse 8 gives us the answer to that question. He has prepared for you in abundance so that you can give to every good work that you would desire to. But here is the thing that should give you the confidence to give abundantly to Him, He has prepared enough for you do that you will be self-sufficient in all things!
Imagine that, He has enough for you right now so that you will be self-sufficient and not have to rely on anyone else. Wouldn’t you like to be self-sufficient in any economy? You can and it is already set aside for you, all you need to do to get that pipeline flowing is begin to give generously. It is that simple. Try it. All you have to lose is the stress of money in your life.
J Todd Hostetler