He pours in and we pour out

AUTHOR: Michael-Janelle

I’ve been spending a lot of time thanking God for what he has done in mine and Janelle’s life lately. We have seen his goodness in a very really way in many parts of our lives—Favor in work, a new place to call home, health, and more. I couldn’t help but stop recently to ask the question, “When did this all start happening?”

After some coffee and meditation, I can boil it down to two things—

1. Who really provides?—In the past I’ve struggled with worrying about how I am going to provide for my wife and our family. Many years ago, a good friend of mine shared a revelation he had on this. It took a while to sink in and become a truth for me. Here it is… I am not the provider for my family. That mindset is inherently prideful. It puts me at the top. It creates an unhealthy thought process that somehow my labor alone can fulfill all of mine and my families needs. Once I renewed my mind on this, and applied Philippians 4:19 (NLT) which says, “And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.” It took off all the pressure, stress, and worry about “making ends meet”. Now I confidently know that God is the one from whom my provision flows and I start to notice that provision daily.

2. Giving generously, even when it hurts—this has become a practice of mine and Janelle’s in the past couple of years. It definitely wasn’t easy in the beginning. Naturally, giving to others means less for us. But that is a notion we’ve worked hard to beat back over time. Now, when we feel a tug to give to bless someone or give to someone in need, we’ve stopped hesitating. We made a determination to recognize God isn’t stingy with us, so we won’t be stingy with others. It made a noticeable difference in our perspective on our personal “needs” and “lack”. More over, giving to others has now become a place of joy for us.

I realized that both of these things take the focus off of ME. Understanding that God graciously pours his provision down on me enables me to then be an instrument of his provision for others. When this focus shifts, all that remains is gratitude.

Feel free to share in the comments any mindset changes you’ve noticed that helped unlock this reality for you.