Daily devotional · November 4
Giving Back What Was Already His
“Then David blessed the LORD in the sight of all the assembly and said: “May You be blessed, O LORD, God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the splendor and the majesty, for everything in heaven and on earth belongs to You. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom, and You are exalted as head over all. Both riches and honor come from You, and You are the ruler over all. In Your hands are power and might to exalt and give strength to all. Now therefore, our God, we give You thanks, and we praise Your glorious name. But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? For everything comes from You, and from Your own hand we have given to You.”
King David has just gathered enormous resources for building the temple, and the people have given willingly. His response is a prayer of praise. He does not congratulate the givers or himself. He says that everything, including the ability to give, came from God in the first place, and that they are only returning what was already His. This turns generosity upside down. We are not benefactors doing God a favor; we are stewards passing along what we were handed. It also frees us from pride and from fear, since what we give was never really ours to hold tightly. Today, choose one way to give, money, time, a skill or a kindness, and before you do, pray David's kind of prayer: thank God for what you have and for the freedom to share it. Give quietly and with joy.
Prayer
God, everything I have came from Your hand. Teach me to give with a thankful, open heart. Amen.