Word of Encouragement (11/27/2024)
“But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you. 15 For we are strangers before you and sojourners, as all our fathers were. Our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no abiding. 16 O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a house for your holy name comes from your hand and is all your own. (1 Chron. 29:14–16)
Here, David humbles himself before God, giving all glory to God for all that he has done in preparation for temple construction. He was shocked by the outpouring of contributions from the people of Israel. David himself might have been surprised by how much he was able to contribute. Until he started making contributions, he might not have known how much God had blessed him with material possessions. So he marveled, “But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly” (v. 14)?
David provides the answer in the rest of v. 14: “For all things come from you....” He acknowledges God as the Fount of all blessings, the Giver of all they possess. Their forefathers were nomads. They were once slaves in Egypt. But God delivered them and gave them the land of Canaan as their inheritance. Their freedom came from God. Their nationhood came from God. The land on which they live came from God. And their riches came from the land and from the enemies over whom God gave them victory. Whatever they were able to do to increase their riches was possible because God provided all the means. They could not claim any credit for what they had.
So, David had to also acknowledge, “...and of your own have we given you” (v. 14). How fundamental this idea is for our giving! We will fret over whatever we give to the Lord as long as we view our possession as our rightful due rather than God’s own. But if we accept the fact that we are His stewards, who have been entrusted with what is His to manage it for His glory, the more we give to the Lord, the greater pride we will take. Then, our giving will be more joyful than painful. That is a double blessing, isn’t it? We will have to give an account of our stewardship to God someday (1 Cor. 3:12-15; even though Paul is mainly speaking of ministers here, the principle applies to lay Christians as well). God accused the post-exilic Jews of robbing God for not giving their tithes and contributions (Mal. 3:8). If we must give our offerings to the Lord, for which we must give an account, isn’t it so much better to do it cheerfully rather than begrudgingly?
During this Thanksgiving season, let us reflect on all the blessings God has bestowed upon us and give cheerfully to the Lord.