Give Me, Give Me, Give Me
Most of the time we associate the phrase, “Give me, give me, give me,” with childish greed.
It starts off innocently enough -- when we were babies, our parents catered to our every need. However, as we grow older, we sometimes continue in this pattern of wanting more or wanting others to do for us what we could do for ourselves. Our appetite becomes insatiable.
In Joshua 14, Caleb asked Joshua to give him something on God’s behalf:
“You know what the Lord promised Moses . . . On that day Moses promised me: ‘The land where you have set foot will be an inheritance for you and your descendants forever, because you have remained loyal to the Lord my God.’
“As you see, the Lord has kept me alive these 45 years as He promised, since the Lord spoke this word to Moses while Israel was journeying in the wilderness. Here I am today, 85 years old. I am still as strong today as I was the day Moses sent me out. My strength for battle and for daily tasks is now as it was then. Now give me this hill country the Lord promised me on that day.” (Joshua 14:6, 9-12)
Forty-five years had passed since Moses made the promise, at God’s direction, to give Caleb an inheritance. For forty-five years, Caleb waited while those who did not have faith in God to deliver the Promised Land into Israel’s hands were forced to wander in the wilderness. All of the people died because they didn’t believe God would keep His promise. Only Joshua and Caleb remained.
Caleb believed God would keep His promise then and he believed that He would keep His promise now. Caleb’s request for the hill country was not based on childish greed, but instead on childlike faith.
Jesus told us to have a similar faith when approaching God, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:7- 11)
Today, ask God to show you whether you are living a life of childish greed or childlike faith. Then approach God’s throne with the confidence of a child.
By LaRaine Rice
It starts off innocently enough -- when we were babies, our parents catered to our every need. However, as we grow older, we sometimes continue in this pattern of wanting more or wanting others to do for us what we could do for ourselves. Our appetite becomes insatiable.
In Joshua 14, Caleb asked Joshua to give him something on God’s behalf:
“You know what the Lord promised Moses . . . On that day Moses promised me: ‘The land where you have set foot will be an inheritance for you and your descendants forever, because you have remained loyal to the Lord my God.’
“As you see, the Lord has kept me alive these 45 years as He promised, since the Lord spoke this word to Moses while Israel was journeying in the wilderness. Here I am today, 85 years old. I am still as strong today as I was the day Moses sent me out. My strength for battle and for daily tasks is now as it was then. Now give me this hill country the Lord promised me on that day.” (Joshua 14:6, 9-12)
Forty-five years had passed since Moses made the promise, at God’s direction, to give Caleb an inheritance. For forty-five years, Caleb waited while those who did not have faith in God to deliver the Promised Land into Israel’s hands were forced to wander in the wilderness. All of the people died because they didn’t believe God would keep His promise. Only Joshua and Caleb remained.
Caleb believed God would keep His promise then and he believed that He would keep His promise now. Caleb’s request for the hill country was not based on childish greed, but instead on childlike faith.
Jesus told us to have a similar faith when approaching God, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:7- 11)
Today, ask God to show you whether you are living a life of childish greed or childlike faith. Then approach God’s throne with the confidence of a child.
By LaRaine Rice
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