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But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today exists, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, won't he much more clothe you, you of little faith? Therefore don't be anxious, saying, 'What will we eat?', 'What will we drink?' or, 'With what will we be clothed?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first God's Kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:30 WEB

Jesus said 'Seek first the kingdom of God and these things (material things) will then be added to you.' Elijah told the widow, 'First make me a little cake and afterward make something for yourself' (1 Kings 17:13). God said, 'Bring all the tithes into the storehouse and I will open the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing that there will not be room enough for.' (Malachi 3:10). Jesus said, 'Give (first) and it will be given to you (later)' (Luke 6:38).

God's love is unconditional, He loves the entire world (John 3:16), but His blessings throughout the Bible depend on our obedience to His word. Most of the promises in Scripture contain a conditional like: 'If you will do this, then I will do that.' Even John 3:16 contains a choice with 'whoever believes in Him', meaning that some will choose not to.

For example, 2 Chronicles 7:14 'If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.' If we want to see the last part, we have to do the first part. What will happen if we don't pray?

Obedience is the ultimate form of praise and the fruit of faith. It proves that you believe in Him enough to take action on it. We work so hard trying to just make ends meet, but unless we put Him first financially, we will always have holes in our pockets (Haggai 1:6). When we choose obedience, He will rain His blessings down on us (Deuteronomy 28:12). We can pray and beg for Him to bless us, or we can just do what He said, and the blessings will begin to fall like rain.

It is a circle of trust, God tells us to give to someone and when we do, He tells someone to give to us, then someone to give to them. If your life is not being blessed, then perhaps you skipped part 1: First be a blessing to someone else, for Jesus said 'Give, and it will be given to you.'

So many times while joyfully serving God, I have suddenly received things beyond what I thought was possible. God really knows how to be extravagant, and it often brings tears to my eyes when I see His excellence and timing. When God blesses you, you are truly blessed. Our giving does not go unnoticed. The angel told Cornelius: 'Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God' (Acts 10:4).

As a young Christian, I worked a job making $250 a week. One Sunday I went up front to put my $25 tithe in the offering basket. When I got home later and sat down to read my Bible, I found that while I was up front, someone had slipped an envelope with $250 cash into my Bible. That day I gave Him ten percent, and He gave me back tenfold.

Another time I gave $40 in an offering and the preacher prayed a blessing over the basket that it would all be returned one-hundred fold. Within a month someone gave me $4,000 dollars to help me buy a car. I gave $40, God multiplied it one-hundred times and gave it back in a month.

These are not normal occurrences, they are examples of the blessing of God that follows obedience to His word. I am telling you this because it is real and we live it in our own life, yet I see so many people struggling just to get by. My heart goes out to them, and we try and help as we can, but there is not enough money on earth to help you if God Himself blows it all away whenever it comes to your house (Haggai 1:9).

The word of God is true. God is not dead, nor is He blind, and He is pretty good at math. A 100% return on 0, will always be 0, and that will never come up before God as a memorial. Give first, and it will be given to you later, or learn to embrace poverty with a smile and a positive attitude. Paul learned to be content in whatever circumstance he found himself, so that is certainly an option (Philippians 4:11).

In all areas of our life, God wants to be first, and when you do He will bless you beyond what you think is possible. God is always looking for ways to bless us, but it often requires a step of faith on our part to get it started. The greatest blessings await those who are willing to trust Him. Give the Lord first place in your life in all areas and follow His gentle prompting, for faith without works is dead (James 2:26).

Prayer: Heavenly Father I adore You and pray that You make this word real to me. Please lead me into all that You have in store. Help me to break out of the normal cycle. Grow my faith Lord, help me walk closer to You, and speak to me in a way that I understand, in the name of Jesus Christ I pray.

Note: 'Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God.' (Philippians 4:6-7) ~ If you have a prayer need, we are here for you! We and the prayer team are ready to lift you up at our private prayer page: RHM Prayer Network

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