What does it mean to be generous?
It is a willingness and readiness to give more than is necessary or expected. A generous person doesn’t simply give, but he keeps giving. Even when someone thinks that she has contributed enough, she continues to contribute.
That is the nature of God: He is good, He is gracious, and He is generous. He is the source of every good and perfect gift (James 1:17).
In Psalm 52:1 David rejoices, “The goodness of God endures continually.” The Lord’s favor toward His people is never diminished but is constant.
People speak of donor fatigue these days. It happens when folks no longer wish to give because they have already given a lot, or because their motivation has waned, or because their resources have dwindled.
But God is not a man that He should tire of giving. God keeps giving because we keep needing.
This is how Paul encourages us, “My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:19). He will supply!
Because He is a generous Father, God delights to give good gifts to His children.
For this reason Scripture instructs us not to “trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy” (1 Tim. 6:17). It is a reminder that we should not fixate on earthly things and material treasures as the most valuable feature of our life. Rather, we should put our trust in the living God who blesses us in His goodness and grace for Jesus’ sake.
Today may we learn to rest in the God who gives us “richly all things to enjoy.”
Lancelot Andrews (Prayers Ancient and Modern) captured some of the fullness of God’s generosity in this beautiful prayer of thanksgiving. It is a prayer for today and for every day:
O Lord my God,
for life and reason, nurture, preservation, guidance, education;
for Thy gifts of grace and nature,
for Thy calling, recalling, manifold recalling me again and again;
for Thy forbearance, long-suffering, and long long-suffering toward me, even
until now;
for all from whom I have received any good or help;
for the use of Thy present good things;
for Thy promise, and my hope, of good things to come;
for all these things, and for all other, which I know, which I know not, manifest
or secret, remembered or forgotten by me, I praise Thee, I bless Thee, I give Thee
thanks; and I will praise, and bless, and give Thee thanks, all the days of my life.
What shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits to me?
Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and honor, and power—Amen.
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