Confounding Case of the Foolish Pharaoh

Do you ever find yourself reading the Bible and thinking, “I don’t get that. What’s that all about?” If so, you’re not alone. Because we have to admit, even for those who are wise theologians, that there are aspects of what we read in the Scriptures that make us want to scratch our heads in amazement.

 

To begin with, some of the things God says and does are beyond the realm of human comprehension. But in His own words, that shouldn’t be surprising. As the Lord declares in Isaiah 55:8-9, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways…. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.”

 

The capacity of our finite minds is no match for the infinite Creator God who designed and formed not only our world but also the vast, complex universe. The fact that He revealed Himself in the person of Jesus Christ and walked this earth is astounding enough. However, what I sometimes find confounding in the Scriptures is the way people respond to Him. Before citing a specific example, let’s set the stage:

 

Imagine a little girl in third grade, let’s say her name’s Margie. A pesky little boy in her class, Martin, is always pulling her hair. Every day without fail. Yank, yank. Finally, after hearing Margie cry out for the hundredth time, the teacher intervenes and says, “I’m going to instruct Martin to quit pulling your hair. When do you want him to stop?”

 

Margie thinks about it for a few moments and then answers, “Tomorrow.”

 

What? That sounds silly. If someone’s doing something you don’t like or want, you’re not interested in them stopping tomorrow – or next week. How about right now? Immediately, if not sooner?

 

And yet we see this same scenario, in a very serious context, unfolding in the Old Testament book of Exodus. The people of Israel have been in bondage in Egypt for 400 years. What began as a providential sojourn during the days of Joseph to escape a great famine had turned into centuries of tyranny and slave labor enforced by the Egyptian pharaohs.

 

To deliver the Israelites from 400 years of oppression, God appointed Moses to be His spokesman. At first Moses wasn’t thrilled with the idea. Who would want to go toe-to-toe with the king of Egypt? But God insisted, making the concession of letting Moses’s brother Aaron serve as his spokesman.

 

Moses and Aaron obediently approached Pharaoh, demanding that he free the Israelites, but the king proved to be one tough nut to crack. He wasn’t enthused about parting with free labor, hundreds of thousands of Israelites. 

 

Even after Moses and Aaron performed several miracles and plagues – water turned into blood, frogs, gnats, flies, hail, locusts – to demonstrate the power of God, Pharaoh dogmatically refused to yield, voicing the Egyptian equivalent of “No way, Jose!” The interactions are described in Exodus 7-11. After each encounter with God’s chosen messengers, we’re told “Pharaoh’s heart became hard.”

 

Amid this succession of plagues there’s a particularly perplexing, almost amusing moment. It’s during the plague of the frogs which infested every nook and cranny in Egypt, including Pharaoh’s palace, private homes, kitchens, bedrooms, ovens and closets. 

 

After Pharaoh asked Moses and Aaron to pray that God would remove the frogs, Moses replied, “I leave you the honor of setting the time for me to pray…that you and your houses may be rid of the frogs…” The king responded, “Tomorrow” (Exodus 8:5-10).

 

Tomorrow? Frogs hopping and climbing and croaking all over, making it impossible even to move without stepping on them. But Pharaoh asked for God to remove the pests tomorrow. Maybe the Egyptian king had decided to stage an impromptu frog-jumping contest or planned a meal of frog legs. But if my house had been invaded by a horde of frogs, I’d want them gone post haste.

 

Don’t we often act in a similar fashion? We attend a worship service and realize the need to start a daily quiet time of reading the Bible and praying. ‘Tomorrow.’ The dispute we had with a longtime friend occurred long ago; we feel convicted it’s finally time to seek reconciliation. ‘Tomorrow.’ The Lord puts someone on our heart, wanting us to reach out to them with compassion. ‘Tomorrow.’

 

Genesis 22:1-18 tells of the time God tested Abraham, instructing him, “Take now your son, your only son, Isaac, who you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering….” The Lord’s intent wasn’t to see Isaac killed, but to test Abraham’s faith through an extreme act of obedience.

 

Abraham didn’t argue or deliberate, make excuses or cry. We’re told, “So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son ….” Even though he might well have wondered what in the world the Lord had in mind, Abraham acted immediately. As a result, the Bible tells us in several places, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” And the Lord provided a ram as a substitute for Isaac.

 

When we’re living a life of faith, God expects this kind of response from us too. In My Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers writes, “We know something is right, but we try to find excuses for not doing it immediately. If we are to climb to the height God reveals, it can never be done later – it must be done now.”

 

Too often we find ourselves singing the tune from the musical “Annie” – “Tomorrow, tomorrow, I’ll love ya tomorrow….” It’s true, at times we must, “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him” (Psalm 37:7). At other times, however, when God impresses on us through His Spirit to do something, “Tomorrow” isn’t the correct response.

Thoughts and Prayers – Do They Really Help Us?

Sometimes we hear people say something like, “Our thoughts and prayers are with you.” What does that even mean? It’s a nice sentiment, but I’m not certain anything we think will make much difference for someone going through a tough time. Five “I’m thinking of you’s” and $6 might get us a small latte at our favorite coffee shop. 

However, the ‘prayers’ part is something very different. That is, if we actually pray and not just say we will, hoping to make someone feel a little bit better. Many times, I’ve promised to pray for someone and promptly forgot, only to hear the person says a week or two later, “Thanks for your prayers.” If I were honest, I’d respond, “Somebody must have been praying for you, but it wasn’t me. It slipped my mind.” That’s one of the rare times when honesty might not be the best policy.

 

A better approach when asked – or offering – to pray for someone is doing it right then. Whether in person or over the phone, I try to pray with them at that moment. Hopefully I’ll remember to pray for them later as well, but at least I’ll have kept my commitment.

 

This isn’t at all to belittle the value and importance of prayer. I believe in the power of prayer with all my heart. In fact, I suspect that if anything, we underestimate what prayer can accomplish.

 

We have a good example in the prophet Elijah. He’s described in James 5:17-18, which hearkens back to events in 1 Kings17-19:  “Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.” The prophet’s prayers brought about an unquestionable, very specific demonstration of the mighty power of Jehovah, the one true God. 

 

How’s your prayer life? Is it like the red box on the wall in the public building, “For Emergency Use Only”? Does it consist only of “saying grace” before a meal? Is it just reciting what some folks call the “Our Father” – the model prayer Jesus Christ taught to His disciples in Matthew 6:9-13?

 

Before committing my life to Jesus, I would send “flare prayers” to God in times of crisis. During one particularly difficult time I did pray the Lord’s Prayer that I’d learned as a boy in church, not knowing anything else to pray. But when I came to the phrase, “Thy will be done,” I couldn’t proceed. 

 

At that moment I didn’t want God’s will to be done. I wanted my will to be done. But the Lord wouldn’t let me go. Finally, with tears streaming down my face, I prayed, “Okay, God, Your will be done!” Amazingly, in that instant of resigning myself to the Lord doing things His way instead of mine, it felt as if the weight of the world had been lifted from my shoulders. And I soon realized His will was much wiser than mine.

 

Years ago, I learned that one of the simplest but most effective patterns for prayer is the acronym, ACTS. It stands for: 

Adoration. 

Confession. 

Thanksgiving. 

Supplication.

 

Too often when I’ve prayed, I’ve skipped the first three steps, going straight to Supplication – presenting my needs and concerns to the Lord. But it makes a world of difference to go through these four steps in order. God already knows what we’re going to ask for, so it’s not like we need to rush to our “wish list” so we can bring Him up to speed.

 

Adoration doesn’t require formal language or some special, sanctified wording. It’s a matter of recognizing who God is, what He has done, and giving Him the praise He deserves. In essence, acknowledging that He’s God – and we’re not.

 

The second step, Confession, is important because we don’t want sin disrupting our conversation with the Lord. As I view it, unconfessed sin is like building a wall that blocks our fellowship with Him. Confession, repenting of any known sin even though we know it’s already forgiven because of what Jesus did for us, has the effect of immediately tearing down that wall. 

 

Thanksgiving isn’t something to practice only on the fourth Thursday every November. In 1 Thessalonians 5:18 we’re told, “give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” We can give thanks for what He’s already done. We can thank Him for the circumstances we’re currently facing, recognizing the Lord can use them for our ultimate good, as Romans 8:28 reminds us. And we can thank Him for what He’s going to do in the future.

 

Then we can move to Supplication, or if you prefer, Petition – submitting whatever’s on our heart to the Lord, knowing by faith that He’s already busily at work in those situations, ready to amaze us again by how He responds.

 

This is where we can kick the ‘prayers’ part of ‘thoughts and prayers’ into gear. Our first inclination is to pray for our own needs and those of our loved ones. There’s nothing wrong with that. But if we truly believe prayer changes things, we can do as Hebrews 4:16 suggests, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace…,” submitting concerns not only for ourselves but also for many needs we hear about during the course of daily living.

 

Do you know of a family in crisis? Pray. Is someone you know facing a dire health situation? Pray. Are you concerned about unrest in the Middle East? Pray. The ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine? Pray. Friends facing financial hardships? Pray. Christians being persecuted and killed in some parts of the world? Pray.

 

The list is endless, and in many cases we’re helpless to do anything about such pressing needs. But we can practice the admonition of 1 Thessalonians 5:17, to “pray without ceasing" or "pray continually.” And with the assurance that we can boldly approach God’s throne of grace solely on the basis of our “great high priest…Jesus the Son of God” (Hebrews 4:14).

When We Can’t Remove Our ‘Thorn in the Flesh’

Have you ever tried yanking out a weed from a garden without work gloves and painfully discovered thorns on its stem? Or have you been arranging roses in a vase and weren’t careful enough, resulting in a thorn sticking your finger? Not a fun experience, right? 

In life we encounter many ‘thorns’ that have nothing to do with rosebushes or briar patches. Prickly things that can either be a brief annoyance or a nagging dilemma that just won’t go away. We don’t hear the phrase much these days, but I remember when people would talk about their “thorn in the flesh.” (They also talked about the “cross I have to bear,” but that’s a topic for another time.) Sometimes it was a circumstance they were enduring; other times they were referring to a particularly bothersome family member. Do you have a thorn in the flesh like that?

 

As unpleasant as it can seem, at times having a thorn in the flesh can actually be a good thing. The apostle Paul wrote about this, perhaps being the one who coined the term. Citing visions he had received from God, Paul stated, “To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given to me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan, to torment me” (2 Corinthians 12:7).

 

There’s no clear indication what this “thorn” was. Biblical scholars have speculated but nobody knows for certain. What we do know is God used whatever it was to keep the once proud Pharisee humble. Paul went on to explain why: “Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.’” 

 

Then the apostle concluded, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:8-10).

 

Could you say honestly say that? A number of times I’ve discovered the reality of God’s grace being sufficient, His power prevailing over my weakness. But I’m not sure about saying I would “delight” in things such as Paul experienced.

 

However, as I ponder this, two people immediately come to mind who personified victorious living despite their own “thorns in the flesh.”

 

Years ago, I joined a small group of folks having an invitation-only breakfast with Kenneth Taylor, the creator of The Living Bible, a very popular, easy to read paraphrase of the Scriptures originally published in 1971. It topped bestseller lists in the United States in 1972 and 1973, and sales ultimately exceeded 40 million copies. 

 

It was a privilege to meet Mr. Taylor, but what I remember most was the extreme difficulty he had trying to speak. He strained to utter each word, and his hearers worked hard to capture what he was saying. Mr. Taylor explained he had undergone extensive medical testing, but doctors could find no physical reason for his speaking disability. 

 

Unable to find a remedy, he concluded God had given this vocal “thorn in the flesh” to keep him humble in the face of his Bible rendition’s huge success. 

 

His original plan back in the mid-1950s was simply to produce a series of Bible stories with pictures for his own children after observing their struggle to understand language of the classic King James Version, the predominant translation at the time. That work expanded over time until he had completed the paraphrase of the entire Bible, published it and saw how eagerly it was received.

 

Proverbs 27:21 states, “The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but man is tested by the praise he receives.” For Mr. Taylor, his speech malady was perhaps God’s way for ensuring he would pass the test.

 

The other person is Joni Eareckson Tada, whom I interviewed for a magazine article nearly 30 years ago. She’s a gifted speaker, author, artist, singer and radio host. All despite being a quadriplegic for the past 59 years, the consequence of unknowingly diving into shallow water in the Chesapeake Bay and breaking her back.

 

One would expect someone suffering such a tragic injury to become angry and bitter. And Joni admittedly did experience anger, depression, suicidal thoughts and spiritual uncertainty, especially during the initial years as she was undergoing occupational therapy. However, during the interview I found her to be the same positive, optimistic person that millions have seen in the years since.

 

The reason is that her faith in Jesus Christ was indeed tested and proven to be genuine and growing. Prior to her accident, Joni had been an active, athletic young woman, but in retrospect understood her own “thorn in the flesh” had been the best thing that could have happened. She told me, “I shudder to think what my life would have been like” had she not become paralyzed and found herself totally dependent on the Lord – and others, including her husband, Ken – for her daily needs. 

 

To this day, Joni doubts she could have achieved what she has if not for her disability – writing more than 40 books, recording several musical albums, starring in an autobiographical movie about her life, making public speaking appearances all around the world, and strongly advocating for people with disabilities through the ministry she founded, Joni and Friends. She has learned God’s power indeed is made perfect in weakness.

 

Do you have a ‘thorn in the flesh,’ some persistent problem or concern that seems beyond remedy? If so, it’s not wrong to pray as Paul did for God to remove it. But perhaps it’s part of God’s perfect plan, one that couldn’t be accomplished in any other way.

Magnifying Our Miseries and Messes

When I was a boy, we were fascinated by magnifying glasses. If you angled one just right you could concentrate a ray of sunlight on a leaf, watch it start to smolder and before long there’d be a tiny flame. That was our version of “the heat of the moment.”

 

But even more fun was looking at small things and using the glass to make them appear larger. It might be a bug, details on a shiny rock, the statistics on a sports collector card, or any number of things. As we get older, magnifying glasses can serve as very handy tools for reading recipes or directions on the back of a box of frozen food.

 

I remember one of my grandfathers had what they called “Coke bottle glasses” to try and offset the effects of cataracts he had developed. I think they helped him see somewhat better, but I recall how big they made his eyes appear.

 

Sometimes it seems our minds also have a kind of magnifying glass. Except in this case, it’s usually not a good thing. The old saying calls it, “Making a mountain out of a molehill.”

 

The boss finds our work on a project not up to par and immediately we start to worry, “Is he going to fire me?” even though nothing has been even hinted to that effect. We have an argument with our spouse, harsh words are exchanged; in the aftermath we start to fear, “Are we heading for a divorce?” 

 

After a routine checkup with the doctor, she suggests, “Why don’t we run a couple of tests,” and we start to worry, “Is it cancer?” Or some other dread disease? While driving, we hear a strange noise in the car and start fretting, certain it’s a problem that will cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars to repair.

 

It’s amazing how we can magnify some small thing into a huge potential crisis and start imagining the worst-case scenario. We all do it, but while magnifying small print so we can read it is good, magnifying problems and making them bigger than they are isn’t good.

 

This is one reason I find God’s promises in the Scriptures so comforting and reassuring. In His “Sermon on the Mount,” Jesus warned about the folly of worry: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” (Matthew 6:25-27).

 

Many of us expend lots of mental and emotional energy wondering things like, “What if this…?” or “What about that…?” Someone has calculated that 90 percent or more of the things we spend time worrying about never occur. And since we don’t know which 10 percent might actually occur, it makes little sense magnifying matters into something they’re not.

 

This is why Jesus added, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:34).

 

It’s true, each day does seem to present trouble of one kind or another, but as they say, “That’s life.” We live in a broken world, filled with broken people. So, we shouldn’t be surprised when we encounter situations that reflect all that brokenness.

 

But rather than extracting our mental magnifying glasses and turning small matters into “the sky is falling, the sky is falling!” events, we can utilize our eyes of faith and trust that even if we do encounter some unsettling news, God’s not caught off guard.

 

Sometimes when I awaken in the morning, the day hasn’t even started and I still feel a sense of anxiety. Often without reason. At such times I like to review and pray a passage I’ve committed to memory, Philippians 4:6-7. It admonishes, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” 

 

If there’s something specific that’s concerning me, I pray and present it to the Lord. Even if it’s some vague feeling, I do the same. As the apostle Peter urged, “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). In fact, He cares about me more than I do myself.

Moral of the story: Magnifying glasses are good for reading instructions on a pizza box or studying box scores in the newspaper, but not for dealing with the challenges of daily living. 

Ghosts, Goblins, Vampires – and Spiritual Reality

Tomorrow marks the annual celebration of costumes, candy, and crazy characters. We know it as Halloween. Some kids, from toddlers to young teenagers, dress up like Minions, Disney heroines, cartoon characters, superheroes and famous people. Others don attire seeming to spell “bubble, bubble, toil and trouble” – looking like witches, ghosts, goblins, vampires and zombies.

 

History tells us the observance hearkens to the ancient Celt and Druid tradition called Samhain, marking the end of summer and the start of the harvest season. It was believed at that time “the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred,” according to Christianity.com. 

 

Fast-forward about 1,000 years. The Roman Catholic Church, rather than abolishing the pagan traditions, shifted the focus from a celebration of pagan deities, roaming spirits and the dead to a Christian emphasis, making Nov. 1 "All Saints’ Day." Since saints also were known as “hallows,” Oct. 31 became All Hallows’ Eve – eventually, Halloween.

 

The event in America began shifting in the late 1800s to a more community-oriented festival, along the lines of seasonal traditions like Thanksgiving and Christmas. Over the decades since, different groups have embraced Halloween in a variety of ways, some retaining the celebratory spirit while others giving it a more somber tone, with a focus on death and darkness. As with Christmas and Easter, Halloween has become a target for considerable commercialization.

 

Today, we have children dressed up as their favorite characters going door to door shouting, “Trick or treat!” At the same time, movie theaters, cable TV and screaming services (I mean, streaming services) have been bursting with collections of films from the horror and occult genre. All in the name of a good scare, supposedly. 

 

All of this leads to the question, “Should Christians celebrate Halloween?” Some believers and churches have taken alternative approaches, such as passing out Gospel tracts along with candy, choosing only uplifting costumes that represent goodness and virtue, or having special church events like “trunk-or-treat.” Lacking an absolute answer on what to do, we must follow our own convictions in the light of biblical truth.

 

I mention this because for years I was captivated by scary movies, starting with “Frankenstein,” “Dracula,” “The Mummy” and “The Wolfman.” Much of the scare effect in those films was the suspense, not knowing what might be lurking around the next corner. It was as much what we didn’t see as what the films did reveal. 

 

Most of today’s films, however, seem determined to escalate the blood and gore quotient. I don’t go to see them anymore, partly for that reason. But for me there’s an even greater reason.

 

Not long after I had committed my life to Jesus Christ, the pastor of my church gave a sermon about the dangers of the occult. He didn’t offer just personal opinions. He used teachings from the Bible to warn members of the congregation about fixating on things of the dark world.

 

His message struck a nerve with me since going to see horror movies and reading books that tiptoed around occult topics had been my “guilty pleasure.” I’d even interviewed horrormeister Stephen King during my days as a community newspaper editor. ‘What’s the harm?’, I had reasoned.

 

I met with the pastor to further discuss his message. Maybe I was hoping he would say it was okay since I wasn’t directly participating in stuff of the netherworld. His response wasn’t heavy-handed; no fire and brimstone tactics. He just asked a simple question: “Bob, when you read those books, where’s your focus? Are you looking toward God – or away from Him?”

 

In the Lord’s wisdom, that’s all I needed to hear. Because I quickly realized that my hobby was exposing me to more of the occult than anyone should know. While there might have been occasional references to God, most of the content was about Satan, demons and devils, and other forms of evil.

 

While the Bible does not speak specifically to Halloween, it does address preoccupation with evil and the demonic. To help believers in ancient Colossae understand what godly living should look like, the apostle Paul admonished, “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:1-3).

 

Elsewhere Paul explained that whether we like it or not, we’re all engaged in a spiritual war, one we dare not underestimate. “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:10-12).

 

For most people, Halloween is just a once-a-year, fun activity. Nothing more. But we need to recognize there’s an unseen spiritual realm that can ensnare the unprepared. This is why the apostle Peter warned, “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith…” (1 Peter 5:8-9).

And if tempted to dabble in books or media that clearly aren’t building us up in our relationship with the Lord, we have the assurance of 1 Corinthians 10:13 that, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” 

Do You Ever Feel Guilty About Giving?

We’re nearing the start of the “season of giving,” and already the appeals have escalated: Give. Give. And give again.

 

This season of the year more than any other should remind us of the importance of giving. After all, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Jesus Christ came to earth as a man to teach, to serve as our ultimate example for living, and most of all to give His own life as the propitiation – the once and for all payment – for our sins. As Philippians 2:5-8 says about Him:

 “Who, being in very nature God…made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and become obedient to death – even death on a cross!”

 

I fully agree with the old saying, “You can’t outgive God.” How could we ever begin to approach what the Lord has given to us? But as the solicitations arrive in our mailboxes, our email and even in texts, we’re faced with a conundrum: To which should we give?

 

There are myriad worthwhile causes, ranging from the homeless and people living in impoverished parts of the world to veterans with disabilities and/or PTSD to oppressed followers of Christ in foreign lands to hospitals that serve gravely ill children to relief agencies. Maybe people like Bill Gates or Warren Buffett are exceptions, but we can’t help them all. 

 

Then there are the organizations that send unsolicited gifts, things like calendars, books, address labels, pens, flashlights, notepads, even socks. Probably well-intended, but the effect can be making recipients feel obligated or even guilty so they will give something in return.

 

I’m certainly not opposed to giving. Having been the recipient of generous support gifts myself while on staff with several parachurch ministries, I fully understand the challenge of fund-raising and the need for help in advancing God’s work in this world. I regard it a blessing and a privilege to support causes and people I believe in. But when limited funds face a seemingly unlimited list of potential beneficiaries, this business of giving can be unsettling.

 

If only some magic formula could tell us where to direct our charitable gifts, but there’s not. One invaluable resource is prayer. Everything we have has been entrusted to us by the Lord as stewards, so it would be wise to ask how He wants us to direct our giving. But there are other biblical truths we also should consider.

 

Most of all, God is concerned about our motives. In 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 we’re told, “Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” Another translation says we’re not to give “grudgingly.” Not out of guilt or obligation. And a “cheerful giver” is one who gives with a smile. Giving to support others shouldn’t be a burden.

 

The Scriptures also teach there’s a reciprocal response to our generosity. The very next verse says, “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all you need, you will abound in every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8).

 

This isn’t teaching “prosperity theology,” that if we give a certain amount the Lord will automatically make lavish deposits into our bank accounts. But as Jesus said in one of His teachings about stewardship, “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much” (Luke 16:10). If we’re not faithful in how we use what He’s already given to us, why should we expect to receive more?

 

This is a truth we find throughout the Scriptures. As Proverbs 19:17 states, “He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and He will reward him for what he has done.” Another verse declares, “A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor” (Proverbs 22:9).

 

Charles H. Spurgeon put it this way in one of his devotional writings: “It is the teaching of Scripture that the Lord enriches the generous and leaves the miserly to discover that withholding leads to poverty…. Men trust good stewards with larger and larger sums, and so it frequently is with the Lord.”

This does not resolve the dilemma of where we should direct our giving. Those are decisions we must make individually. But we can be assured that if we give with the right motives and with a cheerful heart, not out of guilt or obligation, God will bless our gifts – and perhaps entrust us with more to give. 

All You Can Do Is Where You Are – Not Where You Aren’t

There’s a saying that if you are always prepared, you won’t have to take time to get prepared when an opportunity presents itself. You won’t have to get ready to be ready.

 

This is true for almost everything: A musician putting in many tedious hours of practice so that when asked to perform at a weekend gig, he’s ready. A college athlete expending much time and energy in conditioning, strength training and practice so that when the call for “next man up” comes, he’s ready. The paramedic who has honed her skills through study, review and repetitive practice so that when the emergency call comes, she’s ready.

 

We can apply this principle to followers of Jesus Christ. We never know when God will present us with a divine appointment. We need to get ready – and stay ready. However, not everybody thinks that way. Many believers read their Bibles and attend worship services regularly, but when God opens up an opportunity – to tell someone about Jesus; help a young believer struggling with her faith; pray for someone in need, or perform an act of compassion and mercy in the name of Christ – they hesitate. ‘I’m not ready.’

 

Unlike the prophet Isaiah – who after hearing God ask, “‘Whom shall I send? Who will go for Us?’ responded, “Here am I. Send me!” (Isaiah 6:8) – they respond, “Here am I. Send someone else!”

 

This runs contrary to the admonition from the apostle Peter who said, “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer [make a defense] to anyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15).

 

Others wait for God to give them a special “calling,” sending them to some exotic locale where they can engage in ministry with people who have never heard the Gospel message. A call to the “mission field.” There’s a fallacy in this kind of thinking. As Oswald Chambers stated in his classic devotional book, My Utmost for His Highest, “Never allow the thought, ‘I’m of no use where I am.’ You certainly can be of no use where you’re not.” The mission field is right here – not “over there.”

 

When I was a newspaper editor, very young in my faith, I had conversations with members of my staff about spiritual matters. We’d discuss our various convictions, but it never occurred to me that I could engage them in a serious conversation about what the Bible says. Years later, after joining the staff of a Christian ministry, I realized my newspaper office could have been as much a “mission field” as some remote village. 

 

In one of his books, the late Jim Petersen wrote about an encounter he had on a trans-Atlantic voyage with two young men heading to Africa to become missionaries. They were looking forward to telling people across the ocean about Jesus. “That’s great,” Petersen reacted. “How many people have you led to Christ back in the States?” With curious looks on their faces, the men responded, “Well, no one.”

 

Apparently, they had never even attempted to share their faith with people they saw every day at school, at work or in their neighborhoods, where they spoke the same language and basically shared the same culture. But they had no doubt about being able to communicate the Gospel message to an unfamiliar people group with a totally different geographic setting, culture and language.

 

After His crucifixion and resurrection, and shortly before His ascension to Heaven, Jesus gave His disciples their final instructions. He promised them, “…you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Yes, the Lord would ultimately send them “to the ends of the earth,” but their starting point was home – Jerusalem, familiar territory.

 

So, the key is not the where of serving as Christ’s “ambassadors,” as 2 Corinthians 5:20 terms it. It’s about being ready – striving to be prepared – no matter where we are or where the Lord sends us.

 

That neighbor you occasionally see and say hello to across the street? Perhaps that’s someone you should pray for, asking the Lord to make it possible for you to talk with him or her about Jesus. I’ve discovered the gym where I work out can be a “mission field” where, surprisingly enough, lots of folks have never heard the truths of the Gospel communicated in a way they could understand.

 

A friend used to give business executives he was mentoring a sign they could post in their offices, just above the doorway, so they’d see it every time they walked through it. The sign read, “You Are Now Entering the Mission Field.”

We’re familiar with what John 3:16 says, that “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” This means everyone we encounter – at school, at work, next door, in the grocery store, or even at church – is someone Christ died for that needs to hear about this priceless gift that’s been offered. We just need to be ready.