Lena sighed regretfully as she crumpled the last note in her purse in the offering bag. This was her usual routine—giving whatever change she had as her offering.
Joy, her friend, noticed this, and asked her after the church service, “Lena, do you even plan your offerings?”
“Plan? I just give what I have at the moment,” Lena admitted.
“Giving is worship, you know. It’s not about leftovers but honoring God intentionally,” Joy gently corrected her.
Giving to God should always be a joy, and we’re blessed for doing it. Nonetheless, we can have greater results by doing it according to His Word. There’s a great significance to planning the offerings you give to the Lord. Remember, He’s God and not a man. Your offering to Him is a sanctified thing and it deserves careful consideration. It’s something you have to be intentional about. It’s not a “casual” giving but something you do as an act of worship. When you give your offerings to God, you’re saying to Him, “I recognize You are God, and I worship You as my Lord.”
Some have the misconception that giving offerings to God involves giving away your “excess” or what you don’t really need. Such an approach can lead to financial instability and challenges down the road. Plan your giving and recognise the holiness and sanctity of your offerings. Jesus said in Luke 6:38, “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom….” Prayerfully plan what you will be giving as your offerings, which, by the way, are different from your tithes, firstfruits, or special seeds. This is an integral part of your financial stewardship. Plan your offerings and give them joyfully. This is the way to position yourself to always walk in God’s superabundant blessings in every area of your life. Praise God!
Prayer
Dear Father, I thank you for the privilege and blessings of giving my offerings. I’m taking actions to do it consistently, reverently and joyfully with the wisdom of God. Therefore, I walk in abundant blessings, bearing increased fruits of righteousness, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
