Today I gave some money to a hungry homeless man at a stop light. I felt immense joy that I was able to bless him and I felt I should have done even more for him. Is it wrong for me to feel great joy when giving or helping the less fortunate or am I to turn that Joy over to the Lord and just be thankful that He has chosen to Save me and give me eternal life. I do not want to rob the Lord of what is rightfully His and I desire to be an obedient servant to Him but the joy and happiness that filled my heart today was almost immeasurable. What do you think? Can you share some Scripture about this experience with your response?
The feeling you experienced is one of the ways the Lord blesses us for acting on the prompting of the Holy Spirit. It is not wrong for you to bask in the joy of the Lord’s approval. The proper response is to thank Him for giving you the opportunity, the ability, and the desire to represent Him in that instance.
In Luke 6:30 Jesus told us to give to everyone who asks. In 2 Cor. 9:6 Paul explained that God loves a cheerful giver, and is able to make all grace abound to us. I believe that one of the ways He does that is to cause us to experience the joy that comes with giving.