PRAYER: Lord, I want to honor Your name. Speak to me! Let Your will be done in me and through me as Your steward. Let Your kingdom come and Your will be done in my life and in our church.
DAY 11 - READ MATTHEW 6:5-19
Throughout the Bible we see the use of the term steward. This isn’t a term that is used very often these days, and most of us don’t have a good word picture of what it means. In Genesis 43-44, when Joseph was second in command to Pharaoh, he had a steward who carried out his every request. The role of the steward was to manage his household and ensure that everything was being taken care of according to Joseph’s expectations. Whenever Joseph gave the steward a command, he carried it out faithfully. A good steward faithfully manages a house or a business for the benefit of the master. As part of our Growing Together spiritual journey, we are seeking God in order to become good stewards of His house—the church.
God asks us to step out in faith and become stewards of His house. When we choose to make a stewardship decision by faith, then the next step is to seek His will. “They gave themselves first to the Lord, and, by the will of God, then to us” (2 Cor. 8:5).Seeking God’s will means aligning your decisions and your life with His. Seeking God’s will means understanding God’s input and guidance and then submitting to His plan for you. It means genuinely asking, “Lord, what do you want me to do as part of causing your will to happen in our church?”
Where does one ask for God’s guidance and seek God’s will? How does one seek God to understand their role as stewards in His house? These things happen as you spend time in intentional prayer. A stewardship decision is a prayerful commitment centered on what God wants. It becomes much more than just giving money; it means taking ownership of God’s house and managing it according to His plan. A good steward takes time in prayer to listen and learn what God’s will is for His kingdom. The steward submits to the Lord’s will, jumps to action when called, and takes ownership over the responsibilities and gifts he’s been given to manage.
ACTION ITEM
Listen well over the next week as a good steward. Make notes in your journal of the ways you sense God leading you to be a good steward of His house as you seek Him in prayer and through the Scriptures.