Articles

Does God Give or Does He Take Away?

Have you ever read a verse that stopped you in your tracks?

Mark 4:25 did that to me this week. Jesus says:
“Whoever has will be given more; but whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken away.”

And I had to ask: Wait — does God give… or does He take away?

A Wake-Up Call

As I sat with it, the Holy Spirit cut straight through my heart.

The truth hit me hard:
When I’m not buried in His Word, I become a brightly lit target for temptation.
But the deeper I go into Scripture, the less vulnerable I am.

That’s when I understood what Jesus was saying. This isn’t about God being stingy — it’s about the state of my heart.

Three Kinds of People

  • The hungry. The ones who lean in, open the Bible with expectation, and live in it. To them, God pours out more and more. Their understanding deepens. Their wisdom grows.
  • The casual. The ones who skim, nod politely, treat the Word as optional. Nothing sticks. Nothing grows. And they wonder why their faith feels empty.
  • The neglectful. The ones who hear but never apply. Over time, even the little spark they had flickers out. What they once knew slips away.

Why the Word Matters

This is why David prayed, “I have hidden Your word in my heart, that I might not sin against You.” (Psalm 119:11)

This is why Paul called Scripture the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17). Without it, you’re unarmed.

Even Jesus, in the wilderness, didn’t argue with the devil. He didn’t grit His teeth and try harder. He said, every single time: “It is written.”

The Word is not just information. It’s survival. It’s your weapon. It’s your shield.

The Real Answer

So does God give, or does He take away?

Here’s the answer: God always gives.
But if I treat His Word casually, if I hear but never apply — then even the little I thought I had will slip through my fingers.

The choice is mine:
Stay shallow and lose ground… or dig deep and let God multiply His truth in me.

The deeper I bury myself in the Word, the less vulnerable I am to temptation — and the stronger I become in Him.

Author: Mark Deavall