The Rewards For the Generous

“Then Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife and say, “May the Lord give you children from this woman in place of the one she dedicated to the Lord.” And they went to their own home. And the Lord visited Hannah; and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew before the Lord.”
1 Samuel 2:20-21


Observation:
Hannah was devastated by her barrenness to the point of desperation. More than a son she wanted God’s favor upon her. She wanted the Blesser more than the blessing. That’s why she vowed that she would dedicate a son if God would listened to her prayer. Eventually the Lord listened and she conceived a boy named Samuel. She fulfilled her vows by bringing the lad to the priests to serve God. Eli the priest saw this woman’s faithfulness and blessed her with the rewards that come to those who are generous. It was hard to have just one son, and she had it, she gave it away. As a reward, God blessed her five fold with more children. The Lord always rewards those who give sacrificially to Him.


Application:
The more that we give to God, the more we receive from Him. One seed of obedience in the proper time produces a crop of exponential fruit. This is especially true as we give and dedicate all we have to Him. As a young man I dedicated my body to purity towards my wife and God rewarded me with five times more joy I ever imagine. I dedicated my time and career to Him and He blessed me with more satisfaction and success that I could achieve on my own. I dedicated my finances to Him and He always comes to provide faithfully. God truly rewards those who are generous in heart.
I wonder what are some areas in my life when my level of generosity is low. Sometimes I don’t want to invest time and resources in people that are not capable to pay me back. In order to solve that problem I must dedicate the time I offer them and trust the Lord to do great works in their hearts. The more that I give away, the more room God has to work His miracles in my life and in those around me. I must be faithful with the broken ones that need lots of attention and care in order to build character and a sincere loving heart. I must give everything away in order to get the favor of the Lord. Hannah gave it all, even what she wanted the most, in order to experience the hand of the Lord in her side. I must be willing to give all my possessions, all my honor, all my positions, and all my blessings away in order to dedicate them to the Lord. The more I dedicate to Him, the more He will be dedicated to the desires of my heart.


PRAYER: Dear Jesus, thank you so much for being so faithful and generous towards us. Please let me be a servant that is continually dedicating time, resources, possessions, and dreams to you. Do not let me get a hold of anything for my own benefit but allow me to bring every single blessing to the altar of sacrifice. Show me the areas where I am holding something just for my benefit instead of dedicating it to you. I give you all of my heart, all my soul, all my blessings, and all my desires. I trust you completely to take away everything in order to give me even more abundance. AMEN!