Have you ever been in a place of "It is all about me". Always thinking of yourself and your issues or problems in life. Your focus is so much on yourself... that nobody else matters. Now I am not saying to ignore you and not care or be concerned about your life. But what I am saying is the best way to take a break from only thinking about us is to think and care about someone else. When we are focusing only on our issues or problems in life, it magnifies and consumes us.
I know for many, including myself, when I take a break or take my mind off of me and my problems, I begin to feel better. And one of the best way or therapy (besides having a good therapist) is to give and think of someone else. Think about a time when someone encouraged you or made you feel better with a smile, hug, laughter, kind words, donating their time and resources to you. Psalms 145:8-9 states "The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and great in Mercy. The Lord is good to all! And His tender mercies are over all His works. I know that God who created the heavens and the earth is a loving, kind, good and giving God, and we have been created in His Image. God moves through His creation to do good works. He didn't just create us to only think of ourselves. He created us to think of others and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves {Mark 12:31}.
I am reminded from Acts 20:35 "It's more blessed to give than receive". Now, I am not going to lie. I used to struggle with this scripture. Because in my mind sometimes, {depending on what I was asked to give}, it was better to receive than give. But being a believer in Christ and His teachings, I had to embrace this truth and asked God to give me a heart like His. A kind and giving heart, and He answered my Prayer! Now, I find myself giving more and more. But the best part is, I have not and don't lose anything and God increases even more. Wow! Many of you know and experience the same thing! It is so rewarding to give!
Recently, I read an article from Kent-Teach.Com on five benefits of giving, and are as follows:
Giving makes us feel happy
Giving is good for health.
Giving helps social connections.
Giving evokes gratitude.
Giving is contagious.
We attended our Grandson's school play {Awesome}, and there was a family who was coming in behind us. Calvin (my husband) held the door for the entire family. When we proceeded to pay, the teacher said "Sorry, cash only" and the tickets were $10.00 each. When the family behind us saw we did not have cash on us, the husband said, "Don't worry, I got them". Yes! thank you Lord! Calvin holding the door evoked gratitude and was contagious. It is also a great example and manifestation of Luke 6:38 "Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be given to you. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you". Hence, it is more blessed to give than receive!
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Shine4God's Glory!
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