Trust that God will provide for you. Give what you have freely to others who may have a greater need.

One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. Proverbs 11:24

Every one of us, at some point, has acted selfishly. If the truth of our lives were known, we would see that most of us are selfish most of the time. We don’t like to give up what we think is ours—whether it is words, time, possessions, or money. We think that if we hold on tightly to whatever we have, if we are close-fisted, then we won’t lose it.

But God tells us differently. He tells us that what we have is not actually ours to keep. He wants us to give freely, to be open-handed. He wants us to be generous with what he has blessed us with. When we do that, when we give freely and willingly, God promises us that he will return our blessing beyond anything that we could imagine.

Oftentimes, especially when it comes to money, we hoard over it trying to keep our eyes on every little bit. We don’t want to give any of it up and we constantly worry about whether or not we can afford to do this or that. That anxiousness is just a symptom of being close-fisted. We need to exchange that feeling of anxiousness for a feeling of confidence. But the only way to gain that confidence is to trust in God and follow his commands.

This week, trust that God will provide for you. Give what you have freely to others who may have a greater need. Whether it is words of encouragement, time, or money; give it joyfully and allow God’s blessing to be poured into your life. Don’t try to close your fist around everything in your life. Instead, open your hands and allow those blessings to flow freely from your grasp and into the lives of others.