’Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.’
Several years ago, my husband and I were sitting at church listening to a video being shown that talked about tithing. We had not been paying tithes and had not even discussed it for some time. That night we were convicted when the story from Acts 5:1-11 was discussed. It was about Ananias and Sapphira and how they did not give back the proper amount they promised. The speaker said something to the effect of when you do not give back a proper tithe it is like robbing God. This really got us thinking, talking, and praying.
After that night we began tithing and even budgeting for an offering to the church budget. On our budget sheet that we set up it was the first thing to come out each payday. In the checkbook it was the first entry after the deposit. We have held fast to this for quite a while now and it is simply non-negotiable. It gets paid before anything else, no matter what.
What we discovered through this is God provided. God made sure that even when I was looking for another job and just working some hours at a retail store to get by our mortgage was paid along with all our bills and we still had some money. Of course, the money used for the mortgage often came out of savings, but we never wanted for anything. Then when it looked like we would not have the money for the mortgage any longer, I received my first paycheck from a new job. God provided. God took care of us.
We remember this always and tell others about how God took care of us. We never wavered on paying our tithe and offerings. Things got tight but God always made sure we were taken care of. Even now, we love paying our tithe and offerings and plan out each time how to give a little more. We don’t look to become wealthy; we just want to do what God wants us to do. We want to be good stewards.
Try Him in this, follow His will with your finances and He will take care of you. Things might get tough occasionally, you will be tested, but stay faithful. Lay up your treasures in Heaven, not in this world. The riches there far outweigh anything here on this earth.