To give your all~

So, I am amazed by God's providence through timing and how He uses other people. Thank you to you all who have responded to my last blog about finances and financially giving to ministries ~ keep the thoughts coming!!

This Sunday the interim pastor (ours is on a well-deserved sabbatical) said that we are as close to God as we want to be. He also briefly spoke about God's timing and this one phrase hit me SO HARD: God let Moses dwell in desert for 40 years because He predestined him to the Promise Land at the right time for the Promised One. Let me tell you what hit me at the right time...this devotion that my amazing stepfather, Ken, sent me about God's will WEEKS ago, but I just now read it today (I'll bold what stood out to me):

Author: Elisabeth Elliot
Source: A Lamp For My Feet
Scripture Reference: Romans 12:1-2

Discerning the Will of God

The primary condition for learning what God wants of us is putting ourselves WHOLLY at his disposal. It is just here that we are often blocked. We hold certain reservations about how far we are willing to go, what we will or will not do, HOW MUCH GOD CAN HAVE OF US or of what we TREASURE. Then we pray for guidance. It will not work. We must begin by laying it all down--ourselves, our TREASURES, our destiny. Then we are in a position to think with renewed minds and act with a transformed nature. The withholding of any part of ourselves is the same as saying, "Thy will be done up to a point, mine from there on."

Paul gives four important steps to discerning the will of God:

1. "Offer your very selves to Him,"

2. "Adapt yourselves no longer to the pattern of this present world."

3. "Let your minds be remade."

4. "Your whole nature transformed."

"Then you will be able to discern the will of God" (Rom 12:1,2 NEB).

It IS against our worldly nature to give above tithe or even give at all!! To the outside world it seems insane to give 10% away of your salary, even more so to give more than that! But because of the love that our Lord has put inside of us we are able to love HIS kingdom and plan so much that we can be willing to give our ALL for His glory. I feel like Moses at this point (although not as intense ~ I live much more comfortably than he did in the desert) in waiting for God's timing to revel to me His plan and my footsteps on many matters (i.e. money, babies, church involvement, etc). And that's exciting! However, I am still praying through my thoughts of wanting to hold on to security (i.e. money, selfish indulgences w/out babies...ha!). And I want to continue mulling over thoughts, spiritual advice, and God's Word on this subject matter, but I think it just has a lot to do with me giving my all...and that's more than just money. Then the path to the Promise Land will be clear.