9 And she said to her husband, “Look now, I know that this is a holy man of God, who passes by us regularly.
10 Please, let us make a small upper room on the wall; and let us put a bed for him there, and a table and a chair and a lampstand; so it will be, whenever he comes to us, he can turn in there.”.
2 Kings 4:9-10
The first time Elisha passed by, the Shunammite woman constrained him to eat; then, as often as he passed by, he turned in to eat (2 Kings 4:8). Again, this was an awesome action by this great woman. If she did this habitually for two years and each time gave Elisha a hearty three course meal no one could have faulted her. In fact, everyone in their right mind would have commended her, because she had exceeded what most people would have done.
However, she did more than that! She did not just give habitually but she gave progressively. Such was the aggression in her giving. She took charge of her giving and did not let go. Having started with feeding the man of God, she took a step further and realized that this was a God-sent continual opportunity, so she decided to maximize it! She and her husband built Elisha a house. That is progressive giving.
Some Christians have been giving the same offering since they started coming to church. Their pattern of giving has remained unchanged. Recently, Pastor Nkechi and I were chuckling over a brother that seems to have a “covenant of five thousand Naira offering.” He came into church as a bachelor with nothing, and the Word has prospered him over the years. He is now married, owns cars, owns houses but is still stuck with his monthly five thousand Naira offering. You have to change, because giving ought to be progressive. Refuse to remain at the same spot anymore.
God is a progressive God in His dealings with us and we should be like Him. He told Elijah to go to the Brook Cherith and the ravens would feed him there (1 Kings 17:3-4). When the Brook dried up, He told Elijah that there was a widow who would sustain him (1 Kings 17:7-9). After that there was “a sound of the abundance of rain” (1 Kings 18:41). “Feeding” to “sustaining” to “abundance” is certainly progression! God takes us from one stage of our experience of The Blessing to another.
Confession:
I take charge of my giving and I give progressively. My giving increases as God increases me.
