Day 1 – God is the owner of everything
Psalm 50: 10-12
10 for every animal of the forest is mine,
and the cattle on a thousand hills.
11I know every bird in the mountains,
and the creatures of the field are mine.
12 If I were hungry I would not tell you,
for the world is mine, and all that is in it.
Psalm 50 tells us of the reality that we often do not acknowledge. The Lord describes that literally everything belongs to Him. In this psalm, the Lord uses the imagery of all the animals of the forest and all the cattle of a thousand hills. If it helps a modern listener, He could also have said that every skyscraper, bank, car, and computer is His, too. Using language that the everyday person can understand, He says that if He were ever hungry, He would have no reason to tell a man, because He owns everything in the world and He already has all that He needs. “The world is mine,” the Lord says, “and all that is in it.” The Lord makes no exceptions; He doesn’t just own all the things that relate to the agriculture industry. Everything you have rightfully belongs to Him. Your money, your home, your car, the clothes on your back – even your very life. God created it all and He has the only rightful claim to it all.
How does this affect our daily lives? One thing that prevents Christians from being generous is that they have a hard time parting with the things they possess. But, if we take this psalm to heart, we realize that everything we have actually belongs to God. It always has and it always will. And if God tells us to be generous with something He owns, who are we to disagree? When God asks you to give, or to share, or to live a generous life in general, He’s only asking you to manage the things He alone owns. We are always tempted to look at life in terms of what ‘belongs’ to us. “This is my time,” or “this is my money.” But, God calls us not to look at the world in terms of what we think is ours; but, in terms of all that is His. In so doing, we will have the right perspective on life and our material blessings and can live the generous and gracious lives to which He has called us.
Today’s Generosity Challenge:
Look around your house and find something – regardless of value – you have been hanging onto for a year or more. Commit this item to prayer, asking the Lord who could really use this item. Then, with no fanfare, go and present it to them with simply, “The Lord asked me to bring this to you.” Then, make a quick note in today’s journal (http://GenerousLife.net/Day1) with their reaction to your obedience.
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