When God Asks You to Give Something Away
Key Takeaways
- Every so often, God puts His finger on a possession, relationship, or plan in your life and invites you to open your hand and release it.
- Jeff and Kari Patterson demonstrated radical generosity by selling their dream house, moving into a smaller home, and giving $500,000 to help people in need.
- In Mark 10:21, Jesus looked at the rich young ruler with genuine love before asking him to sell his possessions and follow Him.
- The man in the Gospel account walked away sad because he loved his material possessions more than the invitation Jesus offered.
- When God asks you to let go of something, His request is an invitation into something far better and a way to remove barriers between you and Him.
- The size of the sacrifice matters less than whose hands it is placed in, and all believers have something they can offer to God.
Every so often God puts His finger on something in your life and asks you to open your hand. A possession you've grown attached to. A relationship you've been trying to control. You probably know what yours is already, because it came to mind the moment you heard the title of this episode. And the first thing you feel is loss. You start counting what it would cost you, and the number gets bigger the longer you stare at it.
This episode opens with Jeff and Kari Patterson, who had finally built the house they always wanted after years of saving and planning. It was brand-new, with room to spread out and everything the way they liked it. Then Kari read a book that asked how much a family needs, and the question would not leave her alone. She looked around at the dream house they had just moved into, and for the first time it felt like too much.
Mark 10:21-22 tells of a man who ran up and knelt in front of Jesus, asking what he had to do to inherit eternal life: "Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. 'There is still one thing you haven't done,' he told him. 'Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.'" Look at the order Mark gives us. Jesus looked at the man and loved him, and then He made the request. The love comes first.
The man had a long list of things he'd gotten right, and Jesus went straight to the one that owned him. Then the sentence ends with an invitation. Then come, follow me. The selling was the doorway, and Jesus was standing on the other side of it. The man's face fell, and he went away sad, because he had many possessions. He's one of the few people in the Gospels who heard Jesus say follow me and turned it down. He wanted what Jesus was offering. He wanted his stuff more.
Sometimes the thing God asks you to release is the thing He knows is standing between you and Him. If He is asking, He is inviting you into something better than what you'd be letting go of. Bart shares his own version of this, the months when he and Katharine felt the Lord impress on them to give everything they had left, and how God met their needs every time. The Pattersons found the same thing. They sold the house, and what they got back was a life that fit what they believed.
BY THE TIME YOU FINISH LISTENING, YOU'LL DISCOVER:
Why Mark records Jesus loving the man before He made His request What the invitation at the end of verse 21 reveals about the ask A one-minute prayer for opening your hand over the thing God is pointing to
All of us have something God can use. The size of the thing matters less than whose hand it's in. If He's asking you, He's inviting you.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who are Jeff and Kari Patterson?
Jeff and Kari Patterson are a couple featured on Daily Devotions for Busy Lives who sold their dream house after feeling convicted to live more simply, eventually using their freed-up resources to support ministry and those in need.
What Bible passage is discussed in the episode about giving things away?
The episode explores Mark 10:21-22, where Jesus lovingly asks a wealthy man to sell his possessions, give to the poor, and follow Him.
Why did the rich man in Mark 10 walk away sad?
The man walked away sad because he possessed a great deal of wealth and chose to keep his material possessions rather than accept Jesus's invitation to follow Him.
What is the daily challenge given in this episode?
Host Dr. Bart Leger challenges listeners to identify the specific thing God is asking them to release, hold their hands open in their lap for one minute, and offer it to Him in prayer.
Jeff and Carrie Patterson had finally done it.
Bart Leger:After years of saving and planning, they built the house
Bart Leger:they'd always wanted. A brand new home with room to spread out
Bart Leger:and everything the way they liked it. Then Carrie read a
Bart Leger:book that would not leave her alone. It asked how much a
Bart Leger:family needs, and she couldn't shake it. She looked around the
Bart Leger:dream house that they had just moved into, and for the first
Bart Leger:time, it felt like too much. The truth was, God had put His
Bart Leger:finger on the one thing they had worked the hardest to get, and
Bart Leger:now they had to decide what they loved more. We'll come back to
Bart Leger:what they decided, but first,
Bart Leger:welcome to Daily Devotions for Busy Lives. I'm Bart Leger.
Bart Leger:Catherine and I have been here more than once. There have been
Bart Leger:times the Lord impressed on us to give everything we had for
Bart Leger:the rest of the month to the church or to a cause. I remember
Bart Leger:looking at what was left and doing the arithmetic, and it
Bart Leger:never came out right, but we gave it anyway, and God always
Bart Leger:met our needs. He met them every single time. Every so often, God
Bart Leger:puts His finger on something in your life and asks you to open
Bart Leger:your hand, a possession you've grown attached to, a
Bart Leger:relationship you've been trying to control. You probably know
Bart Leger:what yours is already, because it came to mind the moment you
Bart Leger:heard the title of this episode. There's a man in Mark 10 who did
Bart Leger:that exact math. He ran up and knelt in front of Jesus, asking
Bart Leger:what he had to do to inherit eternal life. He'd kept the
Bart Leger:commandments since he was a boy. Then Jesus answered him. We see
Bart Leger:it in Mark 10, verses 21 and 22.
Bart Leger:There is still one thing you haven't done. One thing.
Bart Leger:Then the sentence ends with an invitation. Then, come, follow
Bart Leger:me. The selling was simply the doorway, and Jesus was standing
Bart Leger:on the other side of it. The man's face fell. And the Bible
Bart Leger:says he went away sad, because he had many possessions. He's
Bart Leger:one of the few people in the Gospels who heard Jesus say,
Bart Leger:follow And he turned it down, and he left sad. He wanted what
Bart Leger:Jesus was offering, but he wanted his stuff more. Sometimes
Bart Leger:the thing God asks you to release is the thing he knows is
Bart Leger:standing between you and him. And if he is asking, he's
Bart Leger:inviting you into something better than what you've been
Bart Leger:letting go of. That's the promise tucked inside verse 21,
Bart Leger:treasure in heaven and Jesus himself. Jeff and Carrie sold
Bart Leger:the dream house. They moved into a home nearly 1,000 square feet
Bart Leger:smaller and set aside around $500, 000 to give to people in
Bart Leger:need. With the money and the time they freed up, Jeff started
Bart Leger:a church in a low-income part of Portland. Carrie, put it in one
Bart Leger:line. All of us have something God can use, and the question is
Bart Leger:whether we will offer it. They gave away the house they loved,
Bart Leger:and what they got back was a life that fit what they had
Bart Leger:believed. All of us have something. For the Pattersons,
Bart Leger:it was square footage. For you, it might be a relationship you
Bart Leger:keep trying to steer or a plan you've been gripping for many
Bart Leger:years. The size of the thing matters less than whose hand
Bart Leger:it's in. Here's today's challenge. Take the thing that
Bart Leger:comes to mind when this episode started and tell God what it is.
Bart Leger:Then hold your hands open in your lap for one minute and pray,
Bart Leger:this is yours. You don't have to settle the rest of it today, but
Bart Leger:simply start by opening your hand and giving it to him if he
Bart Leger:requires it of you. Father, thank you that you look at us
Bart Leger:with love before you ever ask us for anything. You see what's in
Bart Leger:our hands, and you know which of those things has been keeping us
Bart Leger:from you. For everyone listening who already knows what you're
Bart Leger:putting your finger on, give them the courage to open their
Bart Leger:hand and keep them from walking away sad. Show them what you're
Bart Leger:inviting into on the other side of it. In Jesus' name, amen.
Bart Leger:This podcast runs on the generosity of listeners just
Bart Leger:like you. If Daily Devotions for Busy Lives has encouraged you,
Bart Leger:would you consider supporting it with a one-time gift or by
Bart Leger:becoming a monthly supporter? Every contribution helps keeps
Bart Leger:these devotions coming every week. You can give at
Bart Leger:dailydevotionsforbusylives.com slash support. Thank you so much.
Bart Leger:And thanks for joining me on Daily Devotions for Busy Lives.
Bart Leger:Remember, Jesus loved that man before he ever asked him for
Bart Leger:anything. If he's asking you, he's inviting you. Come back
Bart Leger:next time for more encouragement to help you live grounded in
Bart Leger:God's truth. Until then, God bless and have a great day.
