Daily Devotional – Friday, October 29, 2021
He who has pity on the poor lends to the LORD, and He will pay back what he has given.
Proverbs 19:17 (NKJV)
One of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic was loan default. Many individuals, companies and institutions failed to pay their loans on time. Some businesses went under, taking with them massive amounts of money belonging to lenders.
No one would have predicted the impact coronavirus disease would have on the lending industry. Lending institutions usually carry out background checks on prospective borrowers before advancing credit. Creditworthiness is a desired quality of any borrower.
The richest of human beings can default on a loan. You must have heard of people, who were once rich and mighty, being declared bankrupt. There is no guarantee that the person you lend to today will pay you tomorrow.
In contrast, there is One you can lend to and be sure that you will get your money back. However, this faithful and ever-rich Being is not the one who receives the money you give. You lend to Him indirectly.
Solomon identifies the person who receives the credit and the One who pays. “He who has pity on the poor lends to the LORD, and He will pay back what he has given.” (Proverbs 19:17).
How Do You Lend To The Lord?
Let us analyse this teaching. When and if you feed, clothe, house or alleviate the needs of poor people in one way or the other, God counts it as a debt you have lent to Him. Even though you did not expect the receiver to pay you back, to God, you were investing.
Because God has never defaulted on a loan, He will pay you back in due course. Here is another interesting promise: “He who gives to the poor will not lack.” (Proverbs 28:27). How can you lack when your God is your debtor?
What did Jesus say about giving? “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” (Luke 6:38).
Will you lend to God, who does not default on His loans? Will you extend your hand to a needy person? Will you put a smile on another person’s face today? How much does God owe you?
Father, show me someone who needs my help today. I want to lend to You because you never default on your debts.
Daily Devotional – Friday, January 1, 2021
Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.
Isaiah 43:18-19 (NIV)
Phew! Last year is done and dusted. One can almost hear the unanimous sigh of relief from the earth and its inhabitants. Never before in recent history has a calendar year been so packed with sorrow, pain, and death. COVID-19 has devastated the world. Even if you have never contracted the disease, you are affected by its catastrophic impact on the economy, livelihoods, and social and religious life.
Not to forget that all other ‘normal’ challenges and problems are still with us. Global warming, floods, famine, earthquakes, civil wars, corruption, unemployment, social injustice, and a litany of other natural and man-made misfortunes continue to bedevil the world. Seemingly, it is all gloomy and cloudy, or is it?
It is human to expect things to get worse. It is divine to adopt an attitude of gratitude and to see God on the other side of every problem. As Jeremiah reminds us, “Because of the Lord’s great love, we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness (Lamentations 3:22–23). NIV
It could have been worse, but God carried you through. You are alive and (most likely) healthy today because of God’s mercies. It is now time to have a paradigm shift: turn to the God whose compassions are new every morning. Trust Him to carry you through every day of the New Year.
As the key text for today urges, embrace the gift of forgetfulness. Do not dwell on it. God calls on you to open your spiritual eyes and see that He is creating a new thing for you this New Year! Will you perceive it when it springs up? He is the God who will make a way for you in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland of last year. Praise be to Him!
Happy New Year, and welcome to Daily Family Devotions, your home of daily, nourishing spiritual nuggets.
God bless you for this devotion. It’s encouraging especially when we reflect year 2020.
Thank you, brother Steve. God bless you and Happy New Year.
I hope 2021 is proceeding well with God on your side and in front of you.
Indeed, it is good to have a new beginning. Amen
He is a God of new beginnings. Hallelujah!
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