He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Isaiah 40:29 NIV

Play along with me for a minute. You are a loan officer at your hometown bank. (Give yourself a good salary.) You are working one day, an average day (let's say Thursday), when someone comes in to ask for a loan. Let's look at the dialogue. It goes something like this:

"I'd like to apply for a loan." "Okay, how much do you need?" "I need at least $100,000." "Alright, let me ask you a few questions about your ability to repay. First, tell me about your job." "Oh, I don't have a job. I have been unemployed for some time." "No job. Well what about your wife? Where does she work." "Ah, she doesn't work either, but it doesn't matter. She left me last week anyway." "So you have no source of income. You must have a lot in savings?" "No, no savings." "Investments?" "No investments." "Real estate?" "No real estate?" "Well sir, if you don't mind, I am rather busy, I will need some help from you if you want to continue with this loan application. What do you have as collateral?" "Yes, I definately want the loan sir. I'll help anyway I can. Let me see....I owe $32,000 in credit cards...and, uh, I have a tax lien against me, and, uh, I filed bankruptcy last week...and, uh, when my wife left she took our checking account balance, the house, cars and kids. I can't work because I have a bad back....Is there anything else you need to know, because I really am in a big hurry and I need to get this loan. Can I have my check now?"

Okay, remember, you're the loan officer. Your job depends on making wise loans. What decision did you make? Pretty silly question. Pretty silly scenario......for a banker.

But what about God? Let's substitute roles for a minute in our story. You are the man asking for a loan. God is the loan officer. Isn't that what we do everyday with God? We give God our broken hearts, mixed up lives, and debt of sin, our hurts, pains, sorrows, emptiness, lonliness, failures and defeats.......He gives us love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, righteousness, victories, triumphs, healing, salvation, eternity, and, best of all, JESUS!

I call that DEFICIT GIVING! Makes no sense in the banking world. Makes no sense in any "world", but it makes perfect sense to a sinner, saved by grace, like me. I'm pretty glad it works that way to!

Recognize today that God owns it all, anything you have is a gift from Him, and you are living under the benefit of deficit giving. We give Him nothing.....He gives us His all! Praise Him for it today!

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