Scripture: "No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree
bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not
pick figs from thorn bushes, or grapes from briers. The good man brings
good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man
brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of
the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks. " (Luke 6:43-45)
Have you ever thought about how the condition of your heart could be
connected to how generous you are and what you are generous with?
A couple of weeks ago, I started to notice a few things about myself:
I was getting angry a lot easier than I usually do. I was feeling
irritated or even sad for no reason. Instead of “light-hearted” I was
feeling “heavy-hearted”. I was impatient. I was dwelling on things that
made me upset.
I started noticing these things about myself because I had just
finished reading a journal entry I wrote a long time ago. It was about
how I was grateful and blessed that it was not hard for me to be joyful
and happy, even in very difficult circumstances. I even wrote that I was
so optimistic about things, sometimes to the point that it would drive
some people crazy! But, I truly felt that there was always something
good to find in the things that were not so good. After I read that, I
asked myself “Why don’t I feel that way anymore?” I couldn’t figure it
out. I asked God about it, but I didn’t get an answer right away.
That weekend at church our pastor preached about generosity. He said
that the way we are generous determines the condition of our heart. And
he wasn’t talking about just being generous with money or resources. In
fact, he didn’t talk about money at all. He talked about things like our
time, our words and our prayer.
Prayer is the one that stood out to me the most. I thought about the
things I pray for and noticed two things: I don’t pray as much as I
thought I did during the day, and when I do pray it’s usually for
myself. I began to feel that I wasn’t praying for others enough on a
regular basis. Prayer is kind of like having a conversation with God,
and the more we pray, the more we keep God involved throughout our daily
lives, relationships, decisions, and the list goes on. Since I have
been intentionally praying for others more lately, I can definitely say
that my heart feels lighter and my negative emotions have been triggered
less frequently. I’m positive it’s because I’m spending more time
talking to God and thinking about the ways He might be using me to do
good things. But, I know that God does still want me to pray for myself
and ask Him to be continually transforming me so I can be more and more
like Jesus. So, I’m praying that God will also show me where else in my
life I can be generous because I want Him to use me any way He can to
bring others closer to him (even strangers that I meet!).
Are you being generous with your prayer? Maybe there are other ways
you can be more generous in your life. It could be through the type of
words you chose to use or the way you spend your time. Think about it
and ask God to show you how He wants you to be generous so that your
heart can be more like His.
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