Unreturned Favors From God

Sometimes I just want to yell: what the heck God!? What. The. Heck!?

The back story will help give some context. I haven’t quite lost my rocker yet. 😉

A few weeks ago I felt challenged by God to be more generous with my money. You know, making it rain with the dolla, dolla bills, ya’ll.

Immediately two things came to mind. $500 and a specific family I know. Easy enough. I blessed them with a $500 check. Not only that, but I decided to bump my tithe from 10% to 11%.

If you’re like me, you probably sub-consciously hope God’s going to return the favor somehow. In this case, he did with a not so subtle reminder.

I gave God $500, but I found out the following since:

• I owe an additional $3400 in taxes.
• The tenants at my rental property broke their lease, moved out and left me at least $1000 in repairs.
• Their security deposit would cover most of that, except they also didn’t pay their last month’s rent. Double whammy.
• I have an empty rental property which will cost $1000 for every month it’s vacant.

Plus $500 in exchange for minus $5400 and counting.

Boooooo hiss.

This is a classic example of an “unreturned favor” God. Don’t you know that!?

But here’s the deal.

Our obedience to God should not come with expectations.

Even if that comes at our own individual expense.

Last I checked, God hasn’t asked any of us to sacrifice our physical lives. So, really, it is no sacrifice at all. Especially if you consider this one moment/situation does not even come close to negating a lifetime of God’s faithfulness to me.

The next time God does not return a “favor,” consider all God’s done for you and then see if you’re still wanting that favor.

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I write about a hodgepodge of things. Much of it will be what God’s teaching me—hopefully it encourages you too. I also enjoy deep diving into product recommendations, reviews, and other random but useful nuggets.