Day 203: Act of Faith

2 Corinthians 8; 2 Kings 20-21; Nehemiah 2

"It doesn't matter how much you have. What matters is how much you are willing to give from what you have." It should be an honor to give to The Lord in some way, whether it be our time, talents, or money. God doesn't give us what we have, our salary, house, car, etc., so that we can keep it and accumulate more. He gives us stuff so that we can give it away to those in need. The question society tends to ask is "how much can I get?" but what followers of Christ need to be asking is "how much can I give?" Paul is reminding the Corinthians of how excited they were to give when they were first starting out. Now he is telling them to recall that excitement and actually follow through and do it. Consider what we personally have. How much of it is really, truly necessary? How much of it is extra? Are we blessing people with it? If so, then keep it, but if not, then consider giving it away. I think of some believers with big houses. They may not need 4000 square feet for them and their two kids. If they don't then maybe they should consider living more simply so they can give that money to those in need. However, if they house foster kids, or provide shelter for the needy, hold Bible studies/church gatherings, or give up space for missionaries when they are back from their trips, then by all means, they are using their 4000 square foot home the way God intended!

Hezekiah was about to die. He had even been told through the prophet Isaiah that he would not survive. Enter the power of prayer. Hezekiah didn't want to die (shocker!). He prays to The Lord with all of his heart and pours out his soul to God. Almost immediately, God hears his prayer and tells him he will live. The two things that are obvious from this story: first, prayer works; second, God heals. What is interesting though is that in order for Hezekiah to get better, some servants had to put mushed up figs on his wound. They couldn't just sit back and do nothing. I think this is something God likes to do a lot. Yeah, he could have fed the 5000, making spaghetti or fish tacos appear out of thin air, but instead, he sent the disciples to collect what they had. He could have parted the Red Sea with just the snap of his mighty fingers, but he wanted Moses to put his staff in the water. He could have made Noah's house float instead of making him build a giant boat, but Noah built the ark. And here, Hezekiah didn't just magically get better, his servants had to put something on his injury. God can do miracles. That is for sure. But so often those miracles require an act of faith. We humans have to step out and make a connection or get our hands dirty and then God works through us. God likes to use us humans in his divine works.

Nehemiah was doing a great thing to rebuild the city of Jerusalem. No sooner had he started preparations to build, did he receive insults from people about his plans. We are going to face ridicule. We are going to have opposition. Nehemiah trusted in God to help their plans succeed. We, too, can trust in God to help us succeed, no matter what kind of persecution or insults we face.