Receiving

Please go read my friend, Susan's blog before reading this. She wrote a great post about receiving on her blog yesterday.  She and a group of people are doing a Bible study on  Kenneth E. Hagin's book, "The Holy Spirit and His Gifts". 
"The main point of the chapter last night was 'receiving' what God has made available to us."~Susan

I know we've been taught "It's more blessed to give than to receive".  We as humans usually can receive quite easily.  We like getting material gifts.  When we become Christians, our perspective changes.  We realize the world doesn't center around us anymore, it centers around the ONE that created us, and because of that we want to give freely as HE has given freely.  In that though, we often forget that HE gave to us, and in order for us to get that understanding, we must receive first.  But receiving is more than salvation, GOD has so much to give us.  We must learn how to receive.

It's been very humbling to my husband and I to learn how to receive.  I believe it's a process.  :)  I also believe it doesn't come easy for givers.  :)  (My husband is, and always has been as long as I've known him, a giver.  He would give you the shirt off his back if he knew you needed it.  That's the way he is.  I love him for it!  But on the otherhand, I was not as much a giver, and learning took time.  Once I learned, which is also a process, :D  then it was time to learn to receive.  I think giving was an easier lesson.  :D)

GOD put us in a position to receive.  (Have you ever had GOD position you?  It can be very humbling...) Here is just one example of GOD putting us in a position to receive.

Dh had been unemployed.  It was Christmas time.  We didn't have money for gifts.  We had given our bonus (that we were going to use for gifts) to GOD for a church in Nicaragua.  We felt led to do it from the LORD so we know it was the right decision.  On the otherhand, I was upset with the LORD, because HE knew that that was our Christmas money and our living expenses until dh got another job.  I didn't want to put up the tree!  I did not want to celebrate Christmas!  The LORD told me to put up the tree, and every time I walked by to confess, "This will be our best Christmas ever".  I didn't want to do that, but I obeyed.  I put up the tree, Every time I walked by the tree, I confessed, "This will be our best Christmas ever."  My dh told me to make a list of all the things I was planning on buying the kids for Christmas.  I did. 

We went to church the Sunday before Christmas.  An usher walked up to dh and told him after church he would need his help getting packages to he car.  After church dh asked the usher, "Where do these packages go?"  The usher replied, " Brother, they go to your car.  Someone left them for your family."  Apparently dh had misunderstood earlier.  To make a long story short, all the items on the list I made were either provided for from those packages from someone at the church or our family and friends provided them for our children.  GOD is SO faithful.  We need to learn to listen to position ourselves to receive all HE has for us.

I think I might continue this tomorrow.  I'll have to ponder on it some more. 
Blessings until next time!