One of my besetting sins has always been "needing to be needed". You may know the joke, "She's the sort of woman who lives for others. You can tell the others by their hunted expression!"
While reading a meditation on SI, just a few minutes ago, the Lord said, loud and clear in my heart:
[b]"Just RECEIVE, Dear!"
Giving should never be a self-conscious thing - even out of an earnest desire to help. True giving is simply a spontaneous outflow.
Jesus had compassion, it just welled up from His heart. And when it did, things happened.
People were healed and helped. He didn't go around consciously trying to do good, help and teach people, it just happened
It sprang up from the life within
I don't have to receive with the motive to give more effectively or serve God better, but just receive, and the giving will come of itself!
In Him
Jeannette