“Worship the Lord with joy; come before Him with happy songs!” Psalm 100:2

Gift-Giving

Nowadays one of the main things associated with Christmas is gifts! Like everyone else, I love gifts. It’s fun to receive them of course, but, even more, I love giving gifts! I think I’ve been that way all my life. My mother used to tell me stories of my giving away my toys and clothes when I was a little girl. She had to watch that I didn’t give away everything, but I’m grateful that she didn’t squash my giving. She, in fact, was such an amazing “giver” herself. Out of her need and of having very little, she gave and gave and gave…often through her cooking. I am sure that God stretched her groceries so that she could give more.

I can’t help but think that this love of giving was something that God put in my heart from an early age. After all, God is the ultimate giver of gifts, and He wants us to be a reflection of Himself. This pattern of giving caused a bit of tension, however, when I married Floyd. He didn’t quite know what to do with a wife who wanted to give gifts all the time. He said, “We’re praying for money for food, and you’re giving gifts.” I told him I’d rather skip some meals than stop giving.

We finally reached a “deal.” I would pray for provision to be given specifically to ME. If that happened, I could use that to give gifts to others. That seemed fair. The heavens seemed to open and I got gifts from all over—designated for ME! It was mind-boggling. After a few months, Floyd said “obviously God is with you in this…I’m going to join you.” And he became a big “giver” of gifts too. I think he outdid me! Floyd has been such a generous man. It has been a great joy of our life together to be “givers.” Even in our poverty times, maybe especially in our poverty times, we gave. It has been life-giving and so rewarding.

In this Christmas season of giving – I’m thinking about the wonderful gift we’ve been given of having Jesus come to be the provision for our forgiveness of sins. I realize that my love of giving comes right from the heart of God in His giving His Son to us!

I’ve also felt stirred that the greatest gift I can give this Christmas season is my worship to the Lord for His goodness, His mercy, His grace, His strength, His sustaining help, His comfort, His provision, His power. There is so much to worship Him for.

The amazing thing about giving this gift of worship to the Lord is that the gift gives back to us! As we worship the Lord, it fills our hearts with light and life. It draws us closer to the Father. Our burdens become lighter. Our heart fills with joy. We gain a fresh perspective on the hard things we face. It increases our capacity to, in turn, receive from the Lord all we need. You’ve heard the phrase “the gift that keeps on giving”—worship is the ultimate gift that keeps giving! We give in worship to the Lord, and He in turn gives us joy overflowing in our lives.

“Father, accept our gift of worship. Thank You for all the ways You give to us. Amen.”