“If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord, and he will repay you.” Proverbs 19:17

It’s day nineteen of Proverbs, a chapter a day here at Refocused Bible Study. This book of the Bible is so full of wisdom. If you’ve fallen behind or are just joining us, jump in at the chapter of the day corresponding with the date. Everyday you pick the verse that spoke to you the most and follow the quiet time pattern below.

My verse today was:

“If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord, and he will repay you.” Proverbs 19:17

In my life:    Help the poor. 

My family and I were recently discussing a disturbing experience my husband had. He was driving to the Christian book store to buy around $35 worth of books to give to someone in the minstry where he serves.

When he was waiting  at the light in front of the store, a man holding a sign asking for money was walking the median. My husband didn’t have any cash. He proceeded to the Christian book store and used his debit card to purchase the books for the people in his ministry.

This didn’t sit right on him and it still doesn’t. 

God’s spirit was reminding him that He cares for the poor. 

Isn’t God our Father’s heart beautiful? It’s full of compassion for the needy and the broken. If we study this verse in Proverbs more closely, we learn so much about what really takes place when we obediently give to those in need.

Jesus said this on helping the needy: “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭25:40‬ ‭NLT‬‬

When you give to the poor:
You are lending to the Lord.

How wild is that? We could never repay God for how good he’s been to us, but we can reach out and lend a helping hand to a hurting soul and know we are actually lending to our Maker.

He will repay you.

I’m not a prosperity preacher. I don’t believe this necessarily means monetarily. God is much bigger than dollar and cents. Don’t we want the repayment that the Lord of the universe wants to give us? We trust He will always provide for us. So we freely give and trust him to take care of us.

So the next time you see someone in need, know that you are reaching out to the Lord himself when you help them, doing his work. He will repay you.

End in prayer:  Lord, we praise you, for you see the hungry, the homeless, the lonely, and you care. You are a compassionate Father. Give all of us your compassionate heart to help the poor. Help us to make the most of every opportunity to lend to you by helping the needy.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen