A few months ago, I felt like I was being tested on my tithing. I'll be honest, I have not been a diligent tither. But in September, I really felt like my trust was being pushed and that I needed to really have faith in what Malachi 3:10 says "'Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food my house. Test me in this' says The Lord Almighty. 'and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be enough to store it.'" (NIV)
So since September, I have been tithing with every paycheck I have gotten and it has always been before I pay anything else. Well, this last week I forgot to until this morning. I woke up and realized that I had not tithed. At first I started giving myself the guilt trip and the how could you forget talk. But then, I got over myself and sat on my bed and began to pray. I put my trust in God and tithed, knowing that I would be pushing my trust like not other with my finances until my next pay check. It is hard to trust and it is hard not knowing what I will be doing to make it. But I know that my God has provided for me time and time again.
Needless to say, I am trusting without borders. On my way to church this morning, that song, Oceans, came on. That is when I realized that God calling me to diligently tithe each time I get paid, stepping out and trusting that He will provide, and testing God, is a form of what Oceans says about trusting without borders, walking upon the waters, wherever He will lead me. God calls us to do great things and to trust Him with everything we have. So tithing ten percent of my wages is something I can an will continue to do.
The more diligently I have become with tithing, the more I have been trusting God with me. If all I learn is to trust Him more in this time of testing, tithing, and trusting, then that is completely okay with me. Because how can we go through life without trusting the one who created us, how can we live life without the leading hand of Jesus, and how can we have open hearts to help others without knowing Jesus's heart for us? I know that I have a long way to go with my trust, and learning more about Jesus, but I am making steps and giving more of my heart to the one who created me.
My life has come a long ways and I am excited to say that I am proud of who I am becoming. No matter what happens, I know that my God is with me and taking care of me.
