2Timothy 2:15(ESV) tells us, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” To do our best is to use every available resource and energy we possess in order to prove ourselves before God. This verse conveys a fully invested and focused effort to this cause. This is what it takes to stand before God and be approved as a worker. What kind of worker is God talking about? He spells it out for us. We are to be the kind of worker that isn’t shy or ashamed when it comes to His Word. We can have this level of confidence when we have learned to handle God’s truth rightly and plainly.
Handling God’s Word rightly should be the most important of all the things we do in life. 2Corinthians 5:20(NLT) teaches us, “So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” Our respective professions and jobs engage the work that we do in order to support ourselves and our families, but an ambassador for Christ is who we are. As believers in him, we should never look to the world to define our identities, because the world does not have the authority to do so. God is bringing everything together under Jesus Christ, and God has defined us, His children, through His only begotten Son!
Again, our identity is in Christ. Galatians 3:26(NLT) affirms, “For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus.” This is not an ineffectual faith, but a lively faith! Through our faith in Jesus Christ, we are empowered by him to continue his work in the earth. This work includes spreading his Gospel and telling others about him. We live in perilous times, and because we have been empowered by Christ to share the Good News, we must be careful to continually walk in the Spirit and heed only his instruction.
As we know, there are many in our current environments that are begging for money and food. As Christ’s ambassadors, we are commanded by him to do good deeds. Proverbs 14:31(ESV) instructs, “Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who is generous to the needy honors him.” And John 3:17(NLT) teaches, “If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?” Jesus Christ commands us to walk worthy of our calling, and part of doing this is to be generous and give to those in need, but particularly in today’s environment, we must be wise about this.
There are those that beg for money and food but are not ‘those in need’. The most vulnerable in our population are being counterfeited. Those that are capable of working are misrepresenting themselves, and we should not be unwise about this. It’s one of the reasons that we must be workers that rightly divide God’s Truth. It helps us to grow spiritually so that we can discern the Spirit’s voice and heed his instruction.
Recently, I had the opportunity to bless a homeless woman that approached me. Mind you, over time, I have been approached by several individuals that have asked for money, and you may have as well, but I have not been instructed by the Spirit to give to them all. However, I make it a point to set aside an amount according to the Spirit’s direction, and I keep it with me. I do this so that when I am in a protected environment, and He tells us it is safe and ordained of God to give, I can do so accordingly.
During these blessed opportunities, I give the greatest blessing of all, which is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I share the Good News of salvation with the individual that the Spirit has pointed out to me and invite them to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Once I have the Spirit’s instruction, it is not my business what the individual will do with the funds. Nor am I to worry about whether they will be converted through the Word of God that I’ve spoken to them. Jesus Christ said in John 4:34(KJV), “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.” As God’s children, born-again through Jesus Christ, we are here to do God’s Will, not our own wills. Once we have spoken the Word of salvation to an individual, we have satisfied our call. It’s up to God and the person as to what happens next.
After I had given this woman the money that I set aside for such an opportunity, a man walked by and said, “I can’t believe these people are actually giving her money.” It is clear that he said this without the wisdom of God’s Word. You and I have no right to judge anyone’s journey or their spiritual walk with God, and we must never close our hearts to the possibility that God may employ us to invest in them monetarily. Of course, the times demand that we are exceedingly careful and wise, but according to the instruction of Christ and the ministry he has placed in our hands, we should always be prepared to be a blessing in this way. ■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“Prepared to Be A Blessing”, written by KLizzie, edited by Reverend Fran Mack, for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2021. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.