Generosity Encouraged, 2 Corinthians 9:6-15

The following is a true testament of an event that I experienced over 14 years ago…

06/16/10... I witnessed a Miracle today!  While going about my normal business at work, I noticed a banner ad on the finance website I was using.  The ad showed a child with a cleft lip, and they were asking for donations for surgeries. www.smiletrain.org  An overwhelming compassion came over me. I HAD to check it out. God has blessed me with a great smile, for which I've received complements all my life. I felt compelled to give to someone else what God so graciously gave me.  So, I clicked on the ad, thinking I'd donate $50 (I wanted to do at least something), but I'm having a "bad month at work" and we've had lots of expenses this month, too - so $50 was a Stretch!  God, however, had something else in mind.  When I clicked on the ad, it brought me to a screen that said: $25 covers supplies, $50 covers medicines, $125 covers half a surgery, $250 covers one full surgery, $500 for two, and $1000 for four. Once again, the overwhelming call from God came-this time to give a FULL SMILE to a child.  That meant TWO HUNDRED FIFTY BUCKS!!  You've GOT to be kidding me!  I'm wondering how I'm going to pay the bills this month!  Then I remembered a lady's testimony from church on Sunday.  She gave her "last $60" in the offering plate-feeling the same prompting from God-only to get an envelope in the mail with $60 in it from an anonymous person who was also feeling prompted to give.

So, God was saying loud and clear to do it. "Trust Me on this," He said.  So, I DID!  I clicked the confirm button and said, "okay Lord, I'm trusting you to work this out!"

I chose to follow God's prompting.  And I PROMISE YOU, WITHIN 5 minutes, a customer called me back from an earlier sales call in the day and said "We'll buy $25,000 of the bond we discussed.  Get this!  The bond had a commission of 2.5% which equals $625. Okay, so?  Well, $625 is the GROSS commission.  My take home is 40%, which is TWO HUNDRED FIFTY BUCKS!!  Then, for the next hour it was like a parade of incoming calls and walk-ins!  I made that donation about 3PM and it's 4:45 right now. I've made ADDITIONAL commissions enough to equal FOUR GOOD DAYS OF WORK on top of the $625!!  WOW!  HOLY, HOLY, HOLY!  GOD is so powerful!  God's promises are REAL!!     It's so humbling to think that I ever doubted.  Praise God!

Malachi 3:10       "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this, says the Lord Almighty, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it."

Matthew 25:40    "The King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'"

Matthew 25:45    "He will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'"

Thurston T.