Tithe

I have sat in many lessons at church and listened to the tithing stories.  Magnificent examples of tithing have been expressed and shared, but I had not had an experience similar to those.  I had faithfully marched along and paid my tithing without any earth shaking, fantastic manifestation.  Until…

Want to read more? Click on image.

I had several horrible financial obligations hit at the same time.  They were unexpected.  I drained my savings to meet my obligations, but I was going to be short the taxes on my house.  I shared my concerns with my parents and wondered what the Lord would have me do.  Naturally, the amount of the taxes was also the amount of the tithing check that I had just written.  The envelope sat with a stamp ready to be mailed out.  I knew that tithing must be paid, but it was the most difficult tithing check I had ever mailed.  The check was put into the mail and I prayed that Father would provide me with a way so that I could pay those taxes.  A month later, the very week the taxes were due, an unexpected check arrived in the mail from a previous employer.  They were reconciling their accounts at the year end and discovered that they had shorted us accidentally.  The check was the exact amount of the taxes.  The Lord had answered my prayers and had provided a means for me to meet our financial obligations.

Malachi admonishes, “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it” (Malachi 3:8 -10).

By Tracy Atkinson

Tracy Atkinson, mother of six, lives in the Midwest with her husband. She is a teacher, having taught elementary school to higher education, holding degrees in elementary education and a master’s in higher education. Her passion is researching, studying and investigating the attributes related to self-directed learners. She has published several titles, including The Art of Learning Journals, Calais: The Annals of the Hidden, Lemosa: The Annals of the Hidden, Book Two, Rachel’s 8 and Securing Your Tent. She is currently working on a non-fiction text exploring the attributes of self-directed learners: The Five Characteristics of Self-directed Learners.