Daily Power #142

Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! (2 Cor. 5:17 NLT)

It’s no secret that I’ve always been financially conservative—at least that’s the way I’ve described myself. Others haven’t been as kind. “Cheapskate Craig” and “Craig the tightwad” were the labels I heard well into adulthood, when I became a Christian and God challenged me to see the way I saved money was a way to try to control life. Don’t get me wrong—saving money and being a good steward is important. But knowing that what I had was God’s and not my own freed me up to become extravagantly generous.

The closer I became to God, the more I believed God was calling me to a life of radical generosity. Over time, God changed me from being a tightwad to being someone who lived to give. Though it started slowly, I grew into God’s calling. Without question, I now know that one of my greatest purposes is to live well beneath my means and to sacrificially give to make a difference around the world.

If you will take the risk to step out in faith, God will take one of your greatest weaknesses and turn it into one of your greatest strengths. It has been said that our weakness is our genius: our greatest struggle often yields the greatest opportunity for our growth. That’s exactly what God did through me. By the grace of God, he transformed my heart and gave me a new name that carried a new purpose.

Power Lift

With your help, Lord, today I will live in the new identity I have in Christ and will take risks for your kingdom that the old me could never have taken.