Do You Know How to Receive from God?

During my years of ministry, I’ve met lots of Christians who are well-meaning and love God, but they’ve been taught to give without being taught how to receive. Thinking this is the normal Christian life, they don’t realize what they are missing.

However, the Bible makes it clear…

If you’re a believer, you must learn to be a receiver!

It’s amazing that so many people have missed this. Hebrews 11:6 says it’s impossible to please God without faith. But it doesn’t stop there. When we come to the Lord and exercise faith, “He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”

Perhaps you’ve never given it much thought, but God wants to reward your faith and obedience. In fact, He Himself becomes your reward, as He told Abraham: “I am your shield and your exceeding great reward” (Genesis 15:1). In the Amplified Bible, this reads, “I’m your abundant compensation.”

Isn’t that wonderful? We serve a God of abundance and increase. As we walk in a covenant relationship with Him, He becomes our reward and compensation.

Giving and Receiving

Many people claim to believe God’s promises, yet they still aren’t experiencing the fulfillment of those promises. For example, they quote Philippians 4:19 about God meeting their needs, but then they tell me, “I’m still having trouble making ends meet. I sow seeds into God’s Kingdom, but they don’t seem to be working.”

God does honor every seed sown, my friend. But your seeds must be sown in faith, understanding, and expectancy. And you need to sow your seeds into good ground.

Paul makes an interesting observation in Philippians 4:15 that provides a foundation for the great promise in verse 19: “No church shared with me concerning giving and receiving but you only.”

Notice that Paul wanted the Philippians not only to learn about giving — he also wanted them to learn how to receive from God.

This is how God’s abundance is released: through giving and receiving. The two go together. If you are a giver, you need to learn how to receive your harvests as well. And whenever you receive a new harvest, remember to sow back the firstfruits into the Kingdom. That’s how the cycle of blessing works, producing ever-increasing blessings and abundance.

You see, the Philippian believers were generous givers. Instead of being need-minded, they were seed-minded, ready to use every opportunity to bless others and sow seeds for souls. No wonder God offered to meet all their needs!