Tuesday, September 8, 2026

Bible in a Year Reading Plan: Numbers 33-36 | 2 Corinthians 10

I don’t know how I survived graduate school. Looking back, I can’t imagine how I supported myself when buying a 6-pack of Fresca on sale was a splurge.

Poor as I was, I never thought twice about tithing to the church I attended. Growing up, I was taught to give to God first, and everything else would fall into place. And it always has. 

Today, my situation is much different. My family is comfortable - we can buy even overpriced coffees when the desire hits. Yet one thing remains: we give to God first, and everything else falls into place. 

Our attitude about money says more about our faith in God than almost any other area of our lives. We often live like our money and time are limited resources that need to be hoarded. But having a scarcity mindset isn’t how God wants us to view the resources he’s entrusted to us. 

God wants us to flip our attitude from one of scarcity to one of abundance. King David understood this concept well and demonstrated it in a beautiful prayer illustrating that everything we have was given to us by God first. 

1 Chronicles 29:14
“But who am I, and who are my people, that we could give anything to you? Everything we have has come from you, and we give you only what you first gave us!”

How do we move from an attitude of scarcity to one of abundance? 

The first step is to realize that everything we have was given to us by God. The God of the universe sees our individual needs and has promised to meet them. 

Then we need to shift our focus to what we have instead of fixating on what we don’t. Because when we learn to be grateful for all that we have, the things we lack seem less important. 

Finally, we can be generous with what we do have. Our resources lose their power over us when we willingly share them. It’s hard initially, but as we learn to live generously, we experience freedom. We no longer worry about whether God will provide for our needs because we have experienced that he always does. Living in this knowledge allows us to grow in our faith and love of God.

Wherever you find yourself today - in either poverty or comfort - posture your heart and generosity so that God comes first.

Questions: 
Do you live from a place of scarcity or one of abundance?

How easy is it for you to give generously when God places a need in front of you?

Next Steps: 
Be intentional about giving to an organization where you see God moving. Commit to consistently giving to the church, and watch how God uses your gift to grow his Kingdom.

Prayer: 
Heavenly Father, thank you for promising to meet my needs. Thank you for seeing me and entrusting me with resources that I can use to further the work you are doing here on earth. Show me where I need to relinquish control. Show me places where I can generously give of my resources, be it time or money. I pray that you use me to bring others into a relationship with you. Amen.

Series Theme Verse:

John 13:35
“Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” 

Written by Julie Mabus, a regular contributor to the Daily Devotional.