“For you know the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that
you through his poverty might become rich. Here is my judgment about what is
best for you in this matter. Last year you were the first not only to give but
also to have the desire to do so. Now finish the work, so that your eager
willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your
means” (2 Corinthians 8:9-11, NIV).
Have you ever started something and
never finished it? Maybe circumstances kept you from reaching your goal.
Perhaps you were distracted by other things. Whatever the reason, life happened
and you lost your drive to complete what you started. We have all been at that
place where we have lost interest or heart to finish a project.
Now what if the work you once
started came from a vision that God gave you? It was something that He called
you to bring to life. In the beginning you believed in that vision with all
your heart and soul. You poured your life into it. You gave your time and your
financial support, but you never saw your efforts make a difference. Perhaps
you became weary because of constant struggle to attain that vision. You just
lost heart.
You were the one to whom God
imparted the vision. You were the first to get it started. “Now finish the
work” Paul writes, “according to your means.” You can only finish to the best
of your ability according to what you have been given. God's perfect will is
for His vision to be completed, but you can't make a vision happen—even from
all you have done to inspire others to catch it. If you have given the work the
very best, God will do one of two things. He will bring it to completion with
the support you have around you, or he will give you another means to achieve
it. It is His promise for the work to be completed.
You are rich because of the
sacrifice of Jesus. He has made you rich in His purpose. He is your reason for
living, and He has called you. Allow God to stir the vision again. Allow
yourself to believe in it once more. Give what you can, and trust Him to
complete what only He can finish. “God will make this happen, for he who calls
you is faithful” (I Thessalonians 5:24, NLT).
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