God is a Giver, Are You a Receiver?

Above all else, God is a Giver. His nature is to give….freely and openhandedly. God so loved us that He sacrificed His beloved Son to bring us back to Him. For we were like the prodigal son, “a long way off.” Now in Christ we’ve been “brought near.”  Now, in Christ, we have a compassionate, unfailing, amazing, generous, Father’s love longing to touch us every day of our lives. He “showers us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ.” (Eph 1:3) He gives us our daily bread.

Here are more Scriptures about God’s giving heart:

• Every good and every perfect gift comes from above, from the Father who made the sun, moon, and stars. James 1:17
• He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son. Ephesians 1:6
• Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart. Psalm 37:4

God says His divine power has given us “all things that pertain to life and godliness.” (2 Peter 1:3)  These blessings are free and unearned, but we must receive or take possession of them before they become real in our lives. If that weren’t true, would we not be experiencing them daily and walking continually in peace, victory, holiness, faith, joy, health, glory, prosperity…..all the blessings in the heavenly realm that are already ours in Christ?

Receiving the Blessings That Are Already Ours

The rest of 2 Peter 1:3 says “….We have received all of this (all things pertaining to life and godliness) by coming to know Him, the one who called us to Himself by means of His marvelous glory and excellence.”

Let’s read that again — Peter said we receive everything we need to live this life by coming to know Jesus Christ. But how do we come to know Him? If you study the Scriptures,  you will see certain characteristics in those who come to know God and move “from glory to glory” in their reflection of Him.  God reveals Himself to us directly in proportion to our:

HUNGERING AFTER GOD. “He gave plenty to drink to those who were thirsty. He filled those who were hungry with good food.” Psalm 107:9.

ASKING. “If you ask me to do something, I will do it.” John 14:14

EXPECTING. “The eyes of all wait for You [looking, watching, and expecting] and You give them their food in due season. You open Your hand and satisfy every living thing with favor. (Psalm 145:15, 16 AMP).

In Christ all the promises of God are “yes and amen to the glory of God through us” (2 Cor. 1:20). Experiencing these promises – our inheritance — is a result of hungering, asking, and expecting them to manifest in our lives.   Jesus longs to reveal more of Himself to us.

I awoke the other morning to a radio interview of a Christian woman who was telling the story of being rescued from the Pentagon on 9/11/01. The minutes were passing after the explosion, and she felt she would die. While coughing uncontrollably from smoke in her lungs, she blindly thrust her arm into thick, black smoke, hoping, believing someone would grab it and pull her to safety. Someone did. She is alive today because of the hunger and expectation that was already in her heart. I couldn’t help but notice the parallel to our receiving everything we need in our lives in Christ, whether that be rescue from trouble, victory, provision, healing, a job, peace of mind ….. all God’s promises that are yes and amen in Christ:

• She hungered. In this case, for the very breath of life in her lungs. She needed God.
• She asked God for help.
• She expected God to answer, and took a step of faith, thrusting her arm into a black hole, instead of collapsing under tremendous mental and physical assault.

I don’t know about you, but I am hungry to receive all that God has provided for me. Everything. No holds barred. No limitations. I want to keep asking and seeking first the Kingdom of God. I expect God to answer my prayers because He has promised to, and He is good. I want to grow to trust Him more and more, even in the difficult areas of my life, where it sometimes seems like an answer will never come.

I want to receive and take possession of everything God has already provided for me in Christ.

How about you?

Eph 2:13, John 3:16, Eph 1:3, 2 Peter 1:3, 2 Peter 1:3