Equal Sacrifice; Not Equal Giving

‘Both men and women came, all whose hearts were willing. They brought to the Lord their offerings of gold—brooches, earrings, rings from their fingers, and necklaces. They presented gold objects of every kind as a special offering to the Lord’ Ex.35:22.

For some a financial sacrifice would mean ten thousand naira. For some other it would mean ten million naira. And for some still it would mean a hundred million naira. In my opinion, the people who usually miss it the most are the people whose sacrifice is ten thousand naira because they usually believe they do not have enough to give. When the Lord drops things in my heart that I do not understand, I ruminate over it in His presence. Equal sacrifice but not equal giving was one of such themes I had to ruminate on before the Lord. I was wondering how to benchmark equal sacrifice. For me as a person, how can I know and how can I help my people know that they are at the right level of sacrifice because as a pastor that is my responsibility. While this was going on, I got a mail from a colleague and instantly I knew this was the benchmark that I had been asking God for. God can send you an answer through someone else’s email if you are sensitive. I will share the details of the email with you because like I said it might just be yet another person’s answer from God. The email detailed her conversation with a lady on the service team. The lady said the money she had saved for vital renovation work on her house would have to go as her seed for the land project. And that the renovation even though it would have made life a lot easier for her and her family, it would have to wait until the land is fully paid for. My colleague sharing the experience expressed that she felt really challenged not about the amount which may seem small to most but about the willingness to sacrifice needed comfort for the Lord. And finally she said and I am also saying to you ‘what must we do without this season – comfort, plans, expectations? In preparing for a miracle you have to be ready to give a sacrificial seed. This was the answer I had been seeking for. You need to go to God to understand what His definition of sacrifice is for you.

Prayer: Father, help me understand what I must give that will be truly sacrificial and help me endure the season of stretching, in Jesus Name.