“Remember that our Lord Jesus said, "More blessings come from giving than from receiving" (Acts 20:35b CEV).
This scripture about giving became startlingly real to me as a teenager.
Growing up as a PK (preacher’s kid), the only family “vacation” we took was to our denomination’s camp meeting each summer. This consisted of a week of church services, fellowship with friends, eating many sandwiches, and a swimming pool if my brother and I were fortunate.
In my teenage vanity, I felt pretty good about life one particular year. I’d grown my hair out, lost ten pounds, and had a nice stash of cash I’d been saving for a while. A plethora of stores would be at my disposal in just a few days, and I planned to spoil myself for the first time ever.
That was my plan, but God had something better planned for me. During the second service that week, heart-rending stories of missionaries and the desperate needs of the people they ministered to were presented.
Offering envelopes were passed out, and I felt the strong tug of the Holy Spirit to reach for an envelope of my own. Suddenly, being obedient to the urging of the Spirit was much more important than my little shopping trip. I placed my entire stash of cash in the offering and learned that it truly is more blessed to give.
During the rest of that week of camp meetings, God spoke to my heart things that are with me even today. When I returned home, I experienced the sweetest season of fellowship with the Lord I have ever known. I couldn’t wait until I could get alone with Him each day. My understanding of the Word increased, and my love for Him grew deeper.
A couple of months later, I received a letter from a missionary who had received funds from that offering. He shared with me the beautiful things God was doing because of the gifts that were given.
May you also experience the blessing of giving generously to the Lord.
This scripture about giving became startlingly real to me as a teenager.
Growing up as a PK (preacher’s kid), the only family “vacation” we took was to our denomination’s camp meeting each summer. This consisted of a week of church services, fellowship with friends, eating many sandwiches, and a swimming pool if my brother and I were fortunate.
In my teenage vanity, I felt pretty good about life one particular year. I’d grown my hair out, lost ten pounds, and had a nice stash of cash I’d been saving for a while. A plethora of stores would be at my disposal in just a few days, and I planned to spoil myself for the first time ever.
That was my plan, but God had something better planned for me. During the second service that week, heart-rending stories of missionaries and the desperate needs of the people they ministered to were presented.
Offering envelopes were passed out, and I felt the strong tug of the Holy Spirit to reach for an envelope of my own. Suddenly, being obedient to the urging of the Spirit was much more important than my little shopping trip. I placed my entire stash of cash in the offering and learned that it truly is more blessed to give.
During the rest of that week of camp meetings, God spoke to my heart things that are with me even today. When I returned home, I experienced the sweetest season of fellowship with the Lord I have ever known. I couldn’t wait until I could get alone with Him each day. My understanding of the Word increased, and my love for Him grew deeper.
A couple of months later, I received a letter from a missionary who had received funds from that offering. He shared with me the beautiful things God was doing because of the gifts that were given.
May you also experience the blessing of giving generously to the Lord.
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5 Comments
I remember those camp meeting days! What a wonderful time of experiencing the Lord - even though sometimes it was so hot your hair looked like you jumped in a pool. Ha!
Angela, this is such a beautiful story of God's thumbprint on your heart, even as a teen you were hearing God! Its hard for a grown up to give, but a teen who was planning a shopping trip to completely give that up is a big action Not only did you hear, you obeyed.
Thank you for sharing.
Thank you Angela for reminding us of the ripple effect of obedience to the Holy Spirit to be generous. You never know how God can use even the smallest gift. I also spent lots of weeks at church camp in my youth. Many wonderful memories!
Such a great post and experience Angela. Sometimes I've wondered what the heavenly "map view" of my life might look like. It will be amazing someday to see from on high how things which we have done/given from our hearts for the Lord look like over time. How special it is that one such thing was already revealed to you. This warms my heart!
That's powerful!! What a beautiful souls you have!! I could learn something from that little girl! Inspiring!!🦋🦋🦋