"Aaron is to present the Levites before the LORD
as a wave offering from the Israelites,
so that they may be ready
to do the work of the LORD."
Numbers 8:11
I spent little time tending to the fruit trees. A friend of mine told me I needed to fertilize them, but I never got around to it. It was no surprise, then, that when it came time to harvest there was little fruit to find and minimal growth to detect.
I can expect to get out of my garden in proportion to what I put into it. This principle is also found in the wave offering, a special offering established by the Lord where people would bring thanks, oath or other voluntary offerings and wave them before the Lord in the Tabernacle. This waving motion was a symbol of how we give to the Lord and then He gives back to us.
Jesus taught this same idea when He said, "Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full--pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back." (Luke 6:38 NLT)
When I give my attention, time and gifts to the Lord, pouring my life out to Him like an offering, I receive as much, if not more, than what I give. (Romans 12:1)
Experience
I had never done anything like it before. It was hard to even picture myself teaching a class of children. Still, I stepped forward in faith, responding to the call to teach Sunday School that I sensed God placing on my heart all those years ago. Week after week I presented the lessons. Month after month went by as I learned valuable lessons and gained understanding and know how into the craft of teaching. By the time my family and I moved away from Ft Bragg, I had learned many valuable lessons and acquired 3 years of experience in teaching children.
My confidence in the Lord's willingness to give me the tools necessary to accomplish the mission to which He called me grew as I trusted Him enough to act on His calling on my life. If I had sat back, afraid to try, I would never know the awesome power that comes when I place myself in His hands and trust Him fully to equip me for the job at hand. After all, it is not up to me to carry out the task. Rather, it is God working through me Who is faithful to complete the work He desires to be done.
Therefore, when I offer myself to Him, I need not be afraid of what He will ask me to do. Like Moses learned when he offered God every excuse in the book as to why he couldn't go to Pharaoh to deliver the message God had for him, I will find out that my success or failure is not based on my own skills, worth or abilities. (Exodus 4:11-12) Instead, the accomplishment of the mission to which God has called me is entirely based on His power working through me.
When I use the gifts God has given me, I gain experience and confidence in the Lord.
Faith
The boy offered all he had to give; five small loaves of bread and two little fish. What good would that do in feeding a crowd of five thousand men plus uncounted women and children? It turns out the small offering was more than enough. Jesus took what the boy had given and multiplied it until they were overflowing with food. When the feast was over, the disciples collected up twelve basket-fulls of leftover bread. (John 6:1-14)
It goes without saying that the faith of those gathered there that day grew as they witnessed such an astounding act of God's power. No one had ever seen such a thing! From that time forward, these people began to consider Jesus, if not the Messiah, at least as a prophet from the Lord. The witnesses knew there was something different about this Jesus and there is no doubt that they would pay attention to whatever He said from that time forward.
My faith also grows when I step out into the dark, scary places to which God has called me to go. As I see Him work through me, providing for my needs, supplying the tools necessary, and affording me the energy required, I am more likely to respond eagerly the next time He calls and the easier it is for me to believe that God is who He says He is.
As a human, it is hard for me to believe something I cannot see with my own eyes. Ironically, faith requires me to do just that: to be sure of what I hope for but have no physical evidence to back that expectation up, and to have a conviction of the reality of these things of which I have no proof of their existence. (Hebrews 11:1)
When God says, then, that there is nothing that can separate me from His love, I will be able to take Him at His word and walk boldly through the shadow that crosses over my heart, bringing me into a time of grief and suffering that leads me closer to Him. (Romans 8:38-39) When He reminds me that there is nothing I can do of eternal significance apart from Him, I will be able to believe enough in what He says to cease all the meaningless activities and service and focus solely on where He is leading me. (John 15) When He tells me there is no need to fear because He is with me, I can trust Him enough to know my feelings of isolation and loneliness are not accurate. (Psalm 23:1-4, Psalm 139:5-10)
The more I offer of myself to the Lord, the more my faith in Him will grow as I see God work in and through me.
Intimacy
My husband lost his brother in a shooting a year ago. At the time, it was hard for any of us to comprehend that this fun-loving father of five was gone. There was much grief and sorrow as my husband thought about all times he had shared with his little brother and of the years ahead that would be devoid of his presence. As our family walked through this dark time, we each turned to the Lord for comfort. As we did so, we experienced the kind of healing that only He can bring to those with a broken heart. (Isaiah 61:1-3, 2 Corinthians 1:3-5)
Walking with the Lord through difficulty leads to a deeper bond with Him. As I draw near to Him to find comfort, guidance and reassurance, He comes closer to me in response. (James 4:8) Similarly, as I trust God enough to step out in faith in obedience to His calling, I will find in return a closer bond with Him. The more I trust Him, the closer I will grow to Him.
Not only will I find that my relationship with the Lord will be tighter as I give of myself, but my bond to other believers will grow stronger as well. As I give to the Lord of my life, trusting Him enough to live authentically before Him, others will be drawn to what God is doing in me. As I work side-by-side with my brothers and sisters in Christ, we will grow closer as we share our hearts with each other.
Serving God and others in obedience to His calling leads to a closer relationship with the Lord and His family.
In Old Testament times, the wave offering demonstrated the principle of giving and receiving found in God's kingdom that I can still experience today. When I give of my life to the Lord, sharing the time, gifts and talents He has so generously bestowed upon me, I will find as much if not more coming back to me. I will gain experience, faith and intimacy with God and others as I give of myself in faith. This is the principle of the wave offering.
When do I fear so much that I'm paralyzed, unable to obey the Lord?
What have I gained from giving to the Lord?
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