No, I’m not going to make a works-based gospel out of this idea. Nor am I going to make a formula for how God works or tell you how to twist God’s arm into giving you what you want – that’s putting Him into a box, and one thing I’ve definitely found in life is that He doesn’t fit very well in our boxes. What I do want to do today is to help you grow a little bit in the realm of setting our values based on what God is doing in our lives.
In Matthew 25:29a, Jesus says, “For everyone who has will be given more and he will have in abundance.” Or in Matthew 13:12 in the Amplified Classic Version, “For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will be richly and abundantly supplied.”
God gives us desires, interests, and good works to do or experience (Ephesians 2:10). When we take these desires, interests, and missions of good works and value them, we are setting ourselves up to receive more blessings in these areas.
I believed it, but I came to realize it more deeply a couple of years ago as I was out biking on local roads one day. The roads in my area tend to have very nice, bikeable shoulders, but drivers also sometimes move over a little more (if they can do so safely) to give cyclists extra space and safety. One day when a car moved over for me, I prayed nothing more than, “Thank you, God, for safe drivers!”
The result was almost immediate. Instead of only a few drivers moving over to give me space, almost every single driver would move over as much as was safely possible. And if another vehicle was coming in the other direction, it wasn’t uncommon for the ones coming up behind me to slow down until they could safely give me extra space.
Yes, I kept thanking God for (and blessing) safe drivers. Not only does it keep me safer, but it also keeps them safer as they go on their way.
This is an example of valuing something and receiving more of it – I valued safe drivers, and so now I see even more safe drivers. (And when I see a less-safe driver – let’s say one that runs the new stop sign at a busy intersection – it’s an opportunity to bless them an pray that God would take care of whatever’s bothering them.)
Those who value other people’s victories are also more likely to receive a similar victory in their own life. Barren mothers who are genuinely excited for others in her life who get pregnant tend to get pregnant, themselves. Those who are excited for others getting new cars eventually get very nice new cars. Sick people who are excited for others who are healed, even when they are not receiving healing. And so on.
It’s not a test of character with receiving what we desire as the reward for passing the test. That said, seeing others get what you desire does put our character through the flame sometimes.
At times, the receiving is a bit smaller and more personal. I know a woman who loves rocks and other objects shaped like hearts. She finds them much more frequently than the average person. Others discover specific colored flowers, phrases, or numbers more often – simply because they value that experience.
This works with prophesies that God has spoken over your life, or things that He has said to you. If you can value those things, and the steps necessary to get where He says you’re going, you’re well on your way to receiving the promise. Maybe you don’t know how to get between where you are now and where God is calling you (let’s say being a business leader). But if you can value that reality, it will help the steps to that reality become aligned and visible along the way.
Is this an infallible formula? Of course not! But it will definitely grow your character and help you become more Christ-like to value what He has given you along the way. And that’s worth its weight in gold.
