When you tithe and end up unemployed and broke . . .
Posted : 10 May, 2012 12:51 PM
Dear Broke Tither ~
I pray you'll benefit from my own recent "Crisis of Faith" regarding tithing and blessings. This one sent me to the edge of panic . . . a familiar place in my walk but one which continues to give me vertigo nevertheless. This was as close to walking away from the promises of God as I ever hope to be again.
God rescued me . . . and I hope he does you as well, through obedience. I kept tithing anyway, and I went to every prayer meeting in town during the National Day of Prayer week. God blessed me through a divine appointment at one of those meetings, introducing me to a passionate young man of God named Kyle. After this prayer meeting, God gave Kyle the patience to listen to me VENT about how God had NOT in fact "opened up the flood gates of heaven and poured out a blessing I could not contain" and I could prove that with a bank balance of zero and a car payment I had to defer and another bill I had to pay late and with no new employment in sight and now I would have to go ask my church for my tithe money back!
After this flood gate of hell, Kyle just smiled at me and said, "Knowing God, He prob'ly means something spiritual. He never sees blessings the same way I do . . ." and then Kyle had the nerve to keep smiling and pray with me for wisdom, suggesting that, "Hey if God is preparing you for a ministry in an impoverished country, you won't need your car. . . ."
Well, I did know where to find some wisdom, so I started studying to show myself approved regarding my understanding of the scriptures I was standing on for financial provision. And they did, in fact, hinge upon my understanding of the word "blessing".
The Holy Spirit specifically suggested a review of the beatitudes and asked me to substitute "cash" for the word blessing in those passages. I was at myself before I finished the second one. And I was also thrilled, as He flooded my imagination with possibilities for salvation for my children and with possibilities for healings, and with possibilities for salvation for my brothers, and with possibilities for relationship reconciliations and with possibilities for discipleship through new ministries in my church . . .
For any one of those blessings, I would gladly live out of my car. And yes ... even sell my car.
If you are a faithful tither and are doing everything you can to work or to seek work to provide for yourself, go, dear Brother, to your church family and ask for the help you need. Use every community outreach ministry you can find when you need them. Please know that I urge this with full gut wrenching realization of how much humility and embarrassment this will take.
In this Experience called Life, I have experienced a new level of Humility through Surrender; new Strength through weakness. More significantly, I am full of Hope that I have perhaps prevented you and others from approaching the brink of despair over the pressure God allows us to feel regarding his provision . . . even when we tithe.
When you tithe and end up unemployed and broke . . .
Posted : 10 May, 2012 01:40 PM
:yay:...Praise GOD for in our surrenderd and aguired humility His Righteousness SHINES through...thanks Jewel for sharing your personal expierance with this....May all be "Blessed" by it...xo
at myself before I finished the second one. And I was also thrilled, as He flooded my imagination with possibilities for salvation for my children and with possibilities for healings, and with possibilities for salvation for my brothers, and with possibilities for relationship reconciliations and with possibilities for discipleship through new ministries in my church . . .