2 Corinthians 8 - You ready?

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​2 Corinthians 8
 
Paul is speaking to the Corinthians about giving to the church in Jerusalem, reminding them of their initial eagerness to willingly give. But so much of what he says in this regard struck a chord with me as it relates to giving of our gifts…our passions…our dreams…our part in the great story God has placed us in here and now.

“…you, who a year ago started not only to do this work but also to desire to do it.” (2 Cor 8:10). You! You who have this passion and these dreams stirring in you. You might think of them often, or it may have been a while since you’ve dared to think of them. Because life happens. Time passes, circumstances change, things get busy. Things get hard! So very hard. So we put it aside, or put it in a vault, or toss it out altogether. We think we missed the window, or misunderstood the call, or missed out on the qualifications we need. The devil isn’t afraid of our dreams, intents, or well-documented plans…He is afraid of our taking action on these things; of us actually doing them.

“So now finish doing it as well, so that your readiness in desiring it may be matched by your completing it out of what you have.” (2 Cor 8:11) What if we reached back into the vault and remembered our passion and fire for those things? What if we matched our readiness at that moment with a desire to just do it? What if we press on and push through the fears, doubts, constraints our simple eyes see? We will likely never have it all figured out or feel ready. But look back at the end of the verse: we complete it out of WHAT WE HAVE. Because truthfully, we have all that we need to do what God has given us a passion and desire to do.

“For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have.” (2 Cor 8:12) Read it again and again: if the readiness is there, it is acceptable. God has all the power. God sees the potential. God is looking for ready...
 
I think today God is looking at us and saying, “[insert name], you ready?”
 
What do you say? Because once He hears your, “YES!”, He says, “I’ve got this… it is beautiful and acceptable not according to what you do not have, but according to what I have. Let’s do this!”

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