GOD MAKES YOU A PARTNER TO BLESS YOU;
“My friends at Philippi, you remember what it was like when I started preaching the good news in Macedonia. After I left there, you were the only church that became my partner by giving blessings and by receiving them in return” (Philemon 4:15 CEV).
The Bible tells us about a certain widow in Zarephath who was poor and had nothing, yet the Lord commanded her to take care of the prophet Elijah during the period of famine. Before meeting her, Elijah was being fed supernaturally by ravens which regularly brought him food. He also drank from a brook (1 Kings 17:4).
However, the brook dried up and the supernatural supply by the ravens stopped, and God commanded him to go to the widow. By feeding the Prophet Elijah the widow received her miracle: “And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah:… And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah” (1 Kings 17:15-16). Every opportunity you have to give to God is His way of setting you up for greater blessings.
God doesn’t ask you to give because He wants something from you, but because He’s got something greater in store for you. Some have gotten frustrated because they had constantly given of their time and resources to the Lord and to the work of the ministry, and to them, it seemed the circumstances of their lives had not improved. If only they knew that through their giving, God was setting them up for a greater and glorious future, they would rejoice!
Not only did the Lord take care of the widow’s immediate needs after she fed the prophet, He also took care of her future (Read 1 Kings 17:17-23). He had looked into the future and saw that her only son was going to die. His plan to give her a miracle was to send the man of God her way to partner with. Never allow anything stop you from giving to the work of the ministry. Partner with the Lord by investing your time and resources in world-evangelism and you’ll be glad you did.
Further Study:
Malachi 3:10