I wrote this title down around 7:00am this morning, with the intention of writing about it sometime today. It’s been on my mind to share with you. I just opened a devotion to read the next in the series, and it was talking about someone having financial difficulties and promised God she was going to start tithing. To be honest, I was too stunned to read it yet, so I haven’t. I also don’t want my words to be influenced by hers.
One of the reasons I wanted to share is because I can see where, as I’m learning to be more faithful with what I have, that God is providing for my needs, and even needs I didn’t know I would have. I think a question that many people have is “how can 90% go further than 100%?” My answer, when God blesses that 90%, it will stretch even to 200%. I have many examples, but I’ll share one from today. I received an email notification that it was time to renew my blog registration. I hadn’t bothered to open it, because I knew it would be automatically billed to my credit card, and I wouldn’t need to take action anyway. Remember I told you that I wrote the title at 7:12am exactly. As I decided to open the email around 7:25am, I had to do a double take. There was the billed amount for my next year’s fee, and below it, a line that read “registration coupon” for the exact amount of the bill. The net bill? $0.
I’m sitting here in complete awe. I have so many things going on financially where it would be tempting to try to hold on to the 10% that I would normally return to God, but if it’s one lesson I’ve learned, is that withholding God’s portion can only bring disaster on me. It has become a faith element to me. I return to God, and watch how he blesses the remaining portion – from sources that are so out of the blue, that you know it was only from Him.
Are you struggling with returning a faithful tithe to God? I challenge you, give back to God, and watch how he blesses the remaining portion and how He stretches what remains in our hands.
Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for providing for us in the first place. Help us to learn how to be faithful to you, in all things, including in our finances. Lord, please show us what obedience can do, and how you can turn a little into much when we place it in your hands.