A person cannot receive even one thing unless it has been given him from heaven.
John 3:27
Our God is a giving God. He loves to provide for our every need. He has given us an earthly life, an eternal lifetime, and everything we need in-between. The sooner we realize everything we have comes from God, the sooner our hearts are filled with gratitude and HOPE. That’s why I love the words used in John 3:27. This verse does not mince words… EVERYTHING we have has been gifted to us by Him… period.
While we immediately think of God’s “gives” in the physical realm… food, clothing, and shelter… He also gave us the rings on our fingers, the cars in our driveway, and the decorative pillows on our beds. He has graced us with our needs, wants… everything and all things. Even the nails and screws we have in our junk drawers are gifted to us by the Great Provider above. While we may associate the things we have with our income… even our jobs and paychecks come from Him, wrapped in HOPE.
Our Great Giver doesn’t stop with gifting us things from the physical realm… He provides for us spiritually, emotionally, and mentally. He blesses believers with His Great Helper, His Holy Spirit. His Spirit guides, supports, and protects us as we navigate this earthly journey. God also provides us with His peace, wisdom, love, and HOPE. Peace that surpasses all understanding, wisdom with an eternal perspective, love without conditions, and HOPE that overcomes ALL things.
While God provides for our needs and wants, He desires a deep relationship with us. As His children, we are never, ever alone. A deep relationship with Him has got to be one of the greatest gifts He has ever given. Correction, Jesus is the greatest gift God has ever given us. The salvation that we have through Jesus enables us to have a deep relationship with God. Thank you, God for giving us the greatest gift of HOPE in Jesus; enabling us to have a deep relationship with You.
While God gives us amazing physical, spiritual, emotional, and relational gifts, some of God’s gives are gifts we neither wish, nor HOPE for. Yes, there are times God allows trials, challenges, and situations into our lives to grow our faith. While we are unwrapping these faith-stretching gives, we may want to exchange them immediately for something that brings us joy. However, when we go back to John 3:27 and couple it with Romans 8:28, we are assured that God gives us everything and He works all things for good. If we can go through this unwelcomed journey with a God-giving focus, we will unwrap it on the other side with a huge smile, a bunch of faith, and a ton of HOPE.
And… just when we think God has stopped giving, He also gives us talents, gifts, and a purpose. We are fearfully and wonderfully made, with His eternal perspective in mind. We are here to give God the glory while giving our gifts to others. At a very young age, I loved organizing and tidying. It only took me 40 years to grow into my God-given gift. And now, I bless my clients with my talents while shining God’s light through my HOPE projects. Yup, it took me 40 years to finally figure out my purpose. While others may feel I lost purposeful time, I know God was honing my talents while growing my faith. Now, I never go to work because I love what I do while sharing my HOPE with others.
Here is where we pay HOPE forward. We take all that God has given us and gift it to others, wrapped in a bow of HOPE. Yes, ALL that God has given us can be used to gift others. We are able to donate possessions to those in need while tithing to our favorite church. We can build up others in need of support and fellowship by gifting them our time and care. And… we can give others our gifts and talents through our work and hobbies. Whether our gifts are physical, social, or work-related, they are gifts that come wrapped in a bunch of love and tied with a bow of HOPE. After all, love is the greatest gift we have ever been gifted by God. Love that is wrapped up in a beautiful ribbon of HOPE. There is nothing better than gives of HOPE from God that become gifts of HOPE to others.
Connect with Christian service providers: www.christianhomehopeconnection.com