Speaker: Darlene Sala | Series: Encouraging Words | Some verses in the Bible promise so much that you might be tempted to wonder if they’re really true. But having an all-powerful God backing them up means that He can make good on whatever He promises.  Take, for instance, the verse found in 2Corinthians 9:8 that tells us, “And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work” (NIV).

Notice that in this one verse there are six inclusive words or phrases:

Abundantly
All things
All times
All that you need
Abound, and
Every good work.

What a verse! What a promise! What encouragement and assurance!

Do you know the context of that verse–I mean, the verses that precede and follow it? Actually, the entire chapter is about giving. I hope that doesn’t make you uncomfortable, because the promise is that if you want to give to meet a certain need that someone has, God is able to make it possible for you to give. In other words, He will provide so you can give. Verse 11 promises that you “will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way.”

God does not extractmoney from us. Verse 7 says that God loves a cheerful giver. Verse 6 says, “The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.”

I know that you may not be able to give to every cause that you’d like to help. And He never asks us to give what we don’t have.  But He does promise to give us enough to not only meet our own needs but to help meet the needs of others.  In Malachi 3:1, God says, “Try it! Put me to the test.”