“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in 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 you will not have room enough for it”  (Malachi 3:10 NIV).

When my husband, Donn, finished graduate school, we had seven-month-old twins to support, as well as car, college, and furniture loans to pay. Our financial situation was definitely tight! Then I read this statement in a church bulletin: “If the government takes their percentage from your gross income, shouldn’t the Lord have at least the same consideration?”

I cringed. We had always tithed, but only on Donn’s take-home pay. This was definitely not a good time for us to think about giving away more money, but the harder I tried to ignore what I’d read, the more convicted I became. At last, Donn and I agreed that, although we didn’t know how we could, we would begin to tithe on Donn’s gross income. It seemed like a lot of money!

Somehow we paid the bills and within several months, we had a chance to rent a house a stone’s throw from Donn’s job (he’d been driving 36 miles a day) with lower rent and lower heating bills. It was like getting a tax-free $140 a month raise! Our dream of putting some money aside for a home of our own became a reality.

I don’t believe in “giving to get” but this experience taught us that giving out of obedience often opens wonderful doors of God’s blessings!

Father, enable us by your Holy Spirit to believe what you say in your Word and to trust you enough to obey. Amen.

(Devotional from Homespun Faith, Reflections from the Seasons of Life, copyright 2014 Daisy Beiler Townsend. Available as paperback or ebook: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Xulon Press. Locally at Fresh Grounds, M & M Grocery, Leanna’s Books, Penn Alps in Grantsville, Maryland, or from me 724-373-8445 or donaisy@neo.rr.com.)