Friday, 24 November 2023
“Now Samuel grew; and the LORD was with him and He let none of his words fail [to be fulfilled]. And all Israel from Dan [in the north] to Beersheba [in the south] knew that Samuel was appointed as a prophet of the LORD”. – 1 Samuel 3:19-20 AMP
“The conducting, supervising, or managing of something, especially the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care”. This is a definition of stewardship. Abraham was promised an heir by GOD, even though he and his wife were no longer of childbearing age. Yet they believed and eventually what was promised came to fruition. They must have been ecstatic and on cloud nine, then GOD without reasoning with him or consulting him, decided that he should sacrifice that which was so precious to him. He was expected to surrender the blessing to his Creator. You’ve waited decades to finally reap the rewards of all your obedience, faithfulness, and patience, and yet you are expected to just give it away like that without being reassured it will be returned. This was the ultimate test of stewardship. The test to reveal your understanding of what your role is in this relationship (GOD is the owner and you are just a steward, nothing more nothing less). A principle Job also understood and respected (Job 1:21 NIV).
In the first Scripture, you can appreciate that Samuel was truly a blessing and a gift to the people of Israel. His conception and ultimate grooming were supernatural. He was born into a family that understood stewardship in that, Hannah dedicated him to the LORD without a promise of bearing more children. He was then placed under the tutelage of Eli. Eli as the guardian and mentor played his role of being a steward by taking good care of Samuel. Even in his backslidden state, he was still an excellent steward of the gift (Samuel) that he was entrusted with. As a result, Samuel grew up to be a true vessel of GOD, and according to Scripture none of his words fell to the ground, levels. As a leader in the Kingdom am I a good steward of the people placed under me? That’s a VERY SOBERING question. As a head of a church are you a good steward of the souls placed under your guardianship? As a husband and father am I a good steward of the wife and children that GOD has entrusted me with?
Hannah’s faithfulness and obedience were rewarded with many children. Job’s faithfulness was also rewarded with material blessings, far more than he had before or he could ever have imagined. Solomon’s faithfulness, obedience, and good stewardship (building a temple for the LORD when he was king) were rewarded with wisdom and wealth. Though his ending was tragic, his beginning was an excellent example of good stewardship. Saul is an example of bad stewardship, he wasn’t faithful and obedient. He thought of himself more highly than he ought to. He forgot his humble beginnings and abused what he was entrusted with. As a result, EVERYTHING was taken from him (I pray that we may never experience such in our walk with the LORD).
I bought my son three toy guns a couple of months ago (which weren’t cheap by the way). The other day I realized two were broken and the other one was just lying unattended. Every day he always asks me when I’m gonna buy him more toys. I always say, “next week” but I know deep down that I’m reluctant to do so. He wasn’t a good steward of what I gave him, yet he wants me to keep on giving him more. I know he’s young and doesn’t understand what he’s done but it’s a principle he’ll have to realize soon. But this made me realize that we have the same attitude towards GOD in that we aren’t always faithful with what he’s continuously blessing us with, yet we want more and more. We are like the servant who took the one talent and buried it without multiplying it, yet expecting his master to be pleased with him.
For as long as we fail to be responsible with what GOD has entrusted us with, we can’t expect more blessings from Him. GOD can’t break His principles just because we cry to Him and ask for more. The Parable of the Talents is VERY CLEAR about stewardship. Those that are faithful will be entrusted with more, and those that aren’t good stewards even the little they have will be taken from them (Matthew 13:12 and Matthew 25:14-30). This is a biblical principle that governs the distribution of blessings and talents and up until we reckon with it and change our reckless ways we’ll keep praying and fasting all in vain. Unless the LORD Builds a home, those who labor do it in vain (Psalm 127:1).
For as long as we fail to be responsible with what GOD has entrusted us with, we can’t expect more blessings from Him
0 Comments