Giving multiplies your seed sown

1 Kings 17:8-15 And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which [belongeth] to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman [was] there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. And as she was going to fetch [it], he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand. And she said, [As] the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I [am] gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die. And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go [and] do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring [it] unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day [that] the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth. And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat [many] days.

In our theme scripture, we see Elijah challenge a widow woman to give of what she has left and believe God to supply her needs even in the midst of famine! Now that's amazing. If it was in our day, you would probably hear it in the headlines or newspapers that a mighty prophet has manipulated a poor widow and has taken all her money! Guess what, that is what we are being accused of these days. Churches and pastors are taking away people's money etc. They forget how God meets our needs and one of those is by giving.

The world and the media can say all they want but they ignore that God's ways are far from man's ways. Before Elijah approached the woman, God had already spoken to the woman about her providing for the man of God. She may not have known exactly who it was but at least she had a clue that God expects her to give to someone that day. Was God mindful of her needs? Obviously but He was more mindful of her sustenance for the years of famine thereafter. So she was challenged to act in faith. She didn't give out of abundance but out of faith. Some people want to give when they have enough left back to cover their needs. That's natural wisdom and not faith. I have heard people say that before they get saved or enter the ministry, let them make all the money, first get rich and then come in surrender to God. That's putting faith in money and things, not God! No wonder God is using young men mightily these days who have no much care for family needs which need money!

People have their money is so tied up to meet their needs and yet it cannot meet all their needs! Some go ahead to get loans because of needs! A common saying goes that if what you have is not enough to meet all your needs, then turn it into a seed, sow it. Joyce Meyer normally says when you get some money you need to do three things, save some, spend some and give some. Some focus on the spending. Those who are mindful of the kingdom give to the causes of the gospel and their supply never runs out. 

It has always been said when you give of your money, you are like an investor, it's true the money leaves their hands but it goes into their future. So ideally the money comes back multiplied in another form. 

From what we see in those verses, Elijah didn't want to perform the miracle without the widow's involvement. The same is true in the account if Jesus multiplying the Two fish and five loaves of bread. The young boy who gave up his lunch by faith caused the feeding of many, John 6:9. Do you see what one act of giving can do! It will supply your needs and it will  exceed them! You will even have to give to all your neighbours because it will be too much for you to contain. 

Have you ever asked a young child to give you some of its bread? Do you really need the bread or you are testing them to check what's in their heart in a good way? Sometimes you ask them to give some to their friends as you keep watch or you hand them money to give in the giving basket. Since you are the one who gave them the bread in the first place, when you ask it from them you really don't want to take it, after them giving it to you, you give it back to them and when you have more, you add them! If they run out of what they have because they have given it to their friends you give them more so that they eat some and give some more. Giving reflects the heart of the Father who is a giver. 

Of late we have people who think that God does everything for us even when we don't get involved. That's not what we see in the scripture. If she didn't yield to provide for Elijah's need, she would have ate her last meal and died with her child. Your giving is preserving you a posterity in your future, infact it's one way to ensure that you never run out of supplies all your days. It's one of the ways of increasing your income. 

God is not a taker but a giver and you can never out give God. He will supply much more than you need, hallelujah.