2 Corinthians 9:6-8 

6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

After teaching us about the Almighty’s ability Paul tells us about His: 

• Abundance

The result of receiving God’s gift of grace is that the giver will always have all sufficiency to help in every good work. God has the ability to not only supply us so that we can serve but to do so abundantly. The result of His exuberant and extravagant outpouring of grace is not only to fill our reservoirs but to fill them to overflowing. God is able to enrich you so that you will have in every respect at all times, all kinds of sufficiency. So often we get stingy in our serving because we fear we will run dry, that we will give until it’s all gone. But God will give more than enough good gifts so that we can participate in every good work. It’s the story of the widow woman and her finite supply of food, when she lived by faith and not fear God kept filling up her flour and oil jars. 1 Kings 17:10-16: “10 So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” 11 As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.” 12 “As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.” 13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’” 15 She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. 16 For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.” God kept adding to her flour so that she could feed not only herself but others. Success didn’t come from saving her flour but sharing it. Her resources were not dictated by the famine but divinely given by the Father. When we focus on the famine, we will withhold our flour but when we focus on the Father, we will not only be fed but we will be free to feed others. Many of us have resigned ourselves to just surviving when God has called us to a life of thriving. Instead of living by faith we are living in fear, holding back and hiding instead of living in hope and helping. Why don’t we see the great things God can do, because we are living life according to what we can do, relying on our resources instead of His riches. Are you living a limited life based on what you can do, or the abundant life based on God’s ability? Instead of living the blessed life we have let fear back us into a corner, we have surrendered to a mediocre life instead of a meaningful one. Are you scraping the last leftovers from the bowl of self or taking a heaping helping from God’s bottomless bowl? Are you living on the backside of life or the blessed side? The idea is that Christians will be both content in their heart and competent in their helping as they step out to meet the challenges of caring for others. Through Jesus we have the adequacy and abundance to meet the demands of life. What Paul wants to make plain is that the good gifts of divine grace will always be proportioned according to our willingness to walk by faith. We will not want while we exercise cheerful faithful stewardship. Before our resources run dry they will be replenished by God’s divine grace, because of our generous giving. You can’t out give God. This replenishment gives the cheerful giver a complete competence, and contentment, as they live to please God in obedience to His promises.