A reflection from Lauren Bailey, our Chaplain.
One of our lovely guests brought this in to show us and share something that has helped him when times got a bit rough:
Don't quit
When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill;
When you're feeling low and the stress is high,
And you want to smile but have to sigh;
When worries are getting you down a bit,
By all means pray and don't you quit.
Success is a failure turned inside out,
God's hidden gift in the clouds of doubt.
You never can tell how close you are -
It may near when it seems so far.
So trust in the Lord when you're hardest hit,
It's when things go wrong that you must not quit!
Sometimes it can feel like there’s lots of obstacles and it’s all an uphill climb. In Malachi Chapter 3 verse 10 it tells us how our giving is used by God. God’s promise here is to use our bit and ‘open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you (so great) a blessing until there is no more room to receive it.’
Here this scripture is talking about giving ten percent of what you have.
Imagine ten percent of your effort your love, compassion, gifts, time, abilities. It doesn’t seem that much, ten percent, especially when the other ninety percent is usually made up of challenges, obstacles, fear, disruptions and similar. It can feel like the ten percent is not enough, but here, God’s promise is to multiply our ten percent to ‘pour out his blessings,’ so they overflow above, in and through us. Now, our ten percent counts.
Maybe it’s not a matter of how much we give but how we give it.
Luke 21 verse 1-4 tells us about a widow’s gift.
'As Jesus looked up. He saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”'
Pause for a few moments…..
What would you like to offer into the treasury? (not forgetting we can also give him the other ninety percent too, we come as we are to God)
What would Jesus say about it?
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