Why I Tithe

I just want to share with you a little bit of what has been going on with my life lately.
I do have to go back a little though. Eight years ago I had a life changing incident happen. I found myself wandering around and finally walked into a church. I had been a Christian but not one that went to church. I sat in that church that evening and it came time to tithe. I heard this still small voice tell me to put some money in the plate. I looked around and said Lord this church has so much money... I am what you could call a widow right now and this church needs to be taking care of me.
The Lord again said tithe Debbi. I know when He says my name He means business. I said Lord let me pray on this.
I heard, “Who is it you’re going to pray to?
I am the one asking you to pay. Do not be so stingy! You paid the dope man a lot more money and remember I am the one that delivered you from that.”
OUCH! What could I say but, Ok Lord I will tithe but I know this church doesn’t need it. I need it more.
I went to that church for about a month and tithed every time I walked in there. Yes through that I learned the importance of tithing because the Lord restored the problem that got me in those church doors to begin with.
Well I could go on and on about the miracles the Lord has done because I was faithful and tithed but I want to talk about the most recent one. About a month ago, we came into our new church building and had an unofficial prayer service. That day changed my life dramatically.
Pastor Chris had asked us to think about paying for some chairs with our tithe.
I heard that small still voice again tell me to tithe a specific amount. I thought oh my I do not think I have that kind of money in my checking account.
I listened to Pastor Chris and he even stated the amount I was supposed to tithe.
I then said Lord I hear you loud and clear but I do not think I have that kind of money.
Pastor Chris went on to say that those chairs would hold someone that walked in here emotionally broken from divorce, financially burdened, being in so much pain they had no where else to go.
At that point I asked my daughter to go out and get my check book from the car. I was writing the check and to be honest with you I was shaking the whole time as I was writing the check. I really was scared I didn’t have it . That was all the money we had if I did.
As I was writing the check out I just prayed and told God, I am trusting in you. You know what you are doing and I am just along for the ride. Lord you know this is all we have and you know we have to eat and etc. I still hadn’t even paid some of the bills but I will trust you.
I put the check in the bag and told myself the Lord will provide.
Well 3 weeks later I got two checks in the mail. I had gotten that amount back 25 times.
That day of the unofficial prayer service, the Lord had spoken to me and said Debbi you are the family Pastor Chris is talking about.
You see the Lord was right. We are the family broken by divorce, I am the woman hurt emotionally, and we are struggling financially . If it had not been for Pastor Chris, and some other people in the church, I would not be here today.
I had walked back into this church seven months ago so broken and did not know where else to go. We were welcomed back with open arms.
God is so faithful in his promises and that day it was reconfirmed that tithing isn’t about giving to a church or what a church does with it after you give it to them. It’s about being obedient to God and giving back to God what he has given to you.
God wants to bless us and not harm us in any way.
The verse giving Caesar what is owed to Caesar and giving God what is Gods comes to my mind as I am writing this because it was “ Caesar” that paid me this money.
As I was thinking over what it was I wanted to say, I was reminded that the Lord had told me to pay for chairs for my family. Well right now my family consists of three people. The Lord had me pay for four.
That small voice came in again and said, “Yes I asked you to pay for four. Your family will be occupying four seats in here again. I am still in the restoration business and I will restore what has been stolen from you.”
Maybe not the way it was, but it will be so much better.
Wow... What an awesome God we serve. He does provide as He promised. Maybe not in the ways we think He should but Like His word says His thoughts are not always our thoughts and his ways are not always our ways. They are much higher.
What a lesson I learned that day.

Story ID:	384
Written by:	Debbi Denis (bio, contact, other stories)
Story type:	Musings, Essays and Such
Location:	SE Georgia USA
Year:	2005