"And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work...; " 2 Corinthians 9: 8

In the Garden of Eden, if Adam and Eve had taken time to show their gratitude to God for everything they had within their reach, they certainly would not have had enough to focus on the one tree of which the fruit was forbidden to them. And the same can be said about most of us, as it is common to see us more focused on what we don’t have than what we have and especially what we can bring to others around us.

During this year-end season, rather than encourage you to focus on what you did not get from your 2018 request list, I would rather encourage you to sit down and count your past blessings and especially how you can let God use you for others.

In this exercise, if it is sincere, you will realize that God will guide you to a good land in which you can sow love, joy, hope and many other things that can hardly be imagined. You will find yourself as a physical hand of God to affect lives of others. You can suddenly realize that all the money, the well-stocked wardrobe and many other goods that God has placed in your hands were much less for selfish use. You will discover that no one is poor enough to be unable to give anything to others, even if it is a smile or a sincere intention of prayer in favor of another person.

In a practical way, you might even be tempted to hand over ten thousand francs to the pastor of your village instead of your old motorcycle that he needs, because you attach too much emotional value to it and do not want to worry about getting rid of it. However, do not give in to this temptation. What God puts to your heart, do it, and do it happily. For what we keep for ourselves will not enrich us, and what we give will never make us poor (Prov 28:27). On the contrary, verses 11-14 of our basic text remind us that the selfless seed produces in those who are rescued thanksgiving to God, prayers for the donors, and initiates another season, that of the harvest.

Let us obey and wait for an abundant harvest next season!