Empty to Fill

Empty to Fill is the title of the tenth chapter in the book One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. Of that phrase she says "It's the fundamental, lavish, radical nature of the upside-down economy of God." This only confirms what my husband has been preaching for years. "Go be a blessing" he would say (referencing God's command to Abraham). We are not to just take the blessings from God, but we are to be the blessing. Why? Because God knows that when we hold onto the blessings we are given, joy within us dies. Look at this promise from Isaiah 58:10-11: "Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon. The LORD will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength. You will be a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring." So what does this look like in my life? This week it is giving financially...even though my faith is weak and I can't see beforehand how this upside-down economy of God works. Ann says "God extravagantly pays back everything we give away and exactly in the currency that is not of this world but the one we yearn for: Joy in Him."