Give Once More

“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).