Chest of Joash

When God says give, the response should always be, "yes Lord, how much?"

My church does a Chest of Joash collection every year at Christmas time. I'll be honest, I don't know the background to this giving. If I didn't have marketing notes staring me in the face for tomorrows final, I'd google it for you. Sorry. But this offering is used for specific special needs the church has. This year the offering is going toward a new bus for the church, church publications, a donation towards a car for a missionary family we support, and some needs for the children's ministry. The offering was collected this past Sunday.

Last Sunday fell in the middle of a pay period for me. And I'll be honest, things are tight. I'm frantically trying to dig my way out of my credit card debt accumulated nearly 3 years ago and pay cash for Christmas and oh, you know, keep the lights on and the mortgage paid. Same song and dance in nearly every household across America. I'm just trying to do the best I can with what I have. And God, He knows. He knows I'm broke. I'm not poor. He provides all my needs. But the piggy bank, he's pretty hungry.

So anyway, last Sunday. Chest of Joash. Lord, I have no money. I have a little money. I don't have much. Is this an offering I need to make? Can I offer my time instead? Can I give clothes, shoes, whatever to someone who needs them instead? Is there something else you would like me to give? Cuz Lord, I haven't got much. If you need me to give, let me know. Let me know how much. Cuz Lord, if you need me to give, and you tell me to give, and you give me an amount, well, I know I can afford it if you say so.

And I waited. While the pastor touched hearts and loosened purse strings with his message. He's pretty awesome. God uses him to fix the things in my life that need a little extra attention. And I was waiting. Waiting for God to tell me what to do. The whole service. Waiting. Listening. God just let me know. Waiting. And then the pastor calls the ushers forward to start guiding people to the front to place their envelopes in the chest.

Can I just tell you my whole body started shaking and I couldn't reach for my checkbook fast enough? And as I'm filling out the blanks in the check I'm asking, Lord how much? 30? Not enough. 50? Not enough. 100? Peace. The shaking stopped. God grabbed me, got my checkbook out, and then left the rest for me. He doesn't make us give. But if you aren't sure there's a need, if you aren't sure you can afford it, ask. He answers. I didn't actually hear a word. But sometimes, you just know that you know that you know. That's the Holy Spirit. And I wrote that check. Knowing that even if God leaves me with $6 in savings... He won't leave me needing more.