Compound Blessings!

Psalm 103

¹ Praise the Lord, my soul;
    all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
² Praise the Lord, my soul,
    and forget not all his benefits—
³ who forgives all your sins
    and heals all your diseases,
⁴ who redeems your life from the pit
    and crowns you with love and compassion,
⁵ who satisfies your desires with good things
    so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s

I remember an illustration my math teacher did in front of the class in high school. He said you could take a penny and put it in a jar. Each day you put in double the amount that you put in the day before. At the end of one month, after doubling the amount you put in the jar each day, you would have one million dollars saved! We were all amazed. This was an illustration for ‘compound interest.’ I spent the evening doing addition problems to check it out. Of course he was correct, (teachers like lawyers know the answers before they ask a question). One huge disadvantage I found is at about the middle of the month you actually have to start putting in thousands of dollars! I knew it couldn’t be that easy!

However, I believe we can use the same principle with blessings! Let me explain. Since God is always in the giving business, He delights when we give to others, without grumbling! When He sees us giving, He ‘compounds’ the interest on our giving, and gives it back to us. Now, we feel more charitable when we receive a blessing, and we give a little more. Well, don’t ya know, before long it comes right back to us again!

My husband and I have used this principle over and over. It never fails! I watched it recently with my Mom. I wrote about how she is sewing for children in the Dominican Republic. She lives on a fixed income, so she is careful with her money. When we suggested that she drink a high protein shake daily to boost her nutrition, she was concerned about the price. Well, one of the residents in her apartment building received two cases of the drink, and she won’t drink them. She asked my Mom if she wanted them. My Mom got them-free! A returned blessing. She, in turn is giving some coats that are too big for her to a homeless shelter. Someone else in her building offered her a bunch of clothes that don’t fit her anymore. Blessing returned. You see how this goes right? I like to call it ‘compound blessings.’ You can try, but you just cannot out give God! But it is fun to try!

Of course these are small examples of ‘compound blessings’ but He does it on larger scales as well. When my husband an I were faced with an unexpected financial challenge years ago, we still continued to tithe, and give-cheerfully. We gave $100.00 to a group that came to the church. The next week we received…wait for it $1,000.00 from someone in the church who was nudged by God to give us the money. Funny thing, he received the money unexpectedly after he had given extra! We were the beneficiaries of that one, and it supplied our immediate need! A word of caution, we give because we are told to, not with the desire to receive more, and God knows our hearts! Sometimes we are just blessed with health, peace and contentment. That’s a ‘compound blessing also.

Now I do not advise that you give so you can get. But I would like to challenge you to try this principle. We are told to give; Luke 6:38 ³⁸Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

Question: What kind of measure do you use when you give?