By Growing up, I was raised with a mom who instilled the Bible and church into my life. I didn’t have the best upbringing at times due to my family’s issues, but my mom gave me the most important thing she could — Jesus and His word. She taught me that paying tithes was the first thing we did whenever we received money.
I have been doing it faithfully since I was a child. At first, it was because I thought I had to, but as I grew up, I never struggled to continue to do it. God was always incredibly faithful to provide and I never looked back.
I didn’t want a life without God blessing my 90. I have been in an abusive relationship, I’ve been a single mom, and a medic in the army. I’ve moved across the country, came back to a place I never planned to, and now I’m an RN and a married momma of two. One thing that has never changed is God’s faithfulness and the urgency to pay my tithes and even give extra when I’m able. God has used this to show me how consistently faithful He is throughout all our mistakes and heartache.
When I would go through rough times and doubt God even existed, He would use finances to remind me He is very much real and involved. When I first moved back to WV after getting out of the army in Colorado and separating from my husband, I felt hopeless and broken. I didn’t have a job to come back to or even hope at that time. I searched for jobs, but couldn’t find one for an entire year. Throughout that time, God continued to be faithful and bless me financially.
One example that sticks out in my memory is when a lady I had just met at a Pampered Chef party came up to me and gave me a check for an exact amount of money that I was in need of for bills. She told me God impressed on her heart to bless me with that money and thankfully she was faithful to obey. She didn’t know anything about me and she wasn’t even local to our area! There are so many stories I could tell of things just like that happening over and over again. There are some high amounts of money I’ve received that I still don’t have an explanation for other than God. Idolizing money above God can be dangerous and a thin line to walk, but money can also be one of the greatest blessings God uses to whisper to us in the storm, “I’m still here and I will not give up on you.”
A lot of the time we feel that we cannot afford to tithe, but honestly, we can’t afford NOT to. God will bless your 90% so much more than you can advance your own 100%. It doesn’t make sense in worldly terms, but God uses miraculous math to provide.
When God lays it on your heart to be a blessing to others, don’t worry because if you are faithful, He will bless you even more than you can believe. It isn’t just money that we give away, and in turn receive blessing from. It is our time, energy, our words, talents, the way we love, and the ability to overcome selfishness. We are to pick up our cross daily because Jesus took the ultimate cross.
Paying your tithes is just the beginning. If you don’t know where to start, or if you don’t even have a desire, pray to God to open up your eyes and show you just how faithful He can be.
Hannah Smith, author of the Moving Mountains blog, is a woman who feels she has experienced a lot of life in her 30 years.
At 19 years old, Hannah joined the Army. After moving around the country, getting a divorce and losing what seemed like everything, she landed back where God wanted her in Ohio, even though she fought the whole way. She is now in charge of the prayer team at her church and seeks the Lord with all she’s got.
Hannah is married and a RN, but works as a stay-at-home mom to her daughter, Isabella, and her son, Grayson.
She loves to hike, travel, drink coffee, and talk about Jesus. Hannah also has a heart to create a home and life in which she can be a safe place for the hurting and the broken.
To her readers, Hannah says, “I believe that God set every single one of you reading this apart, for such a time as this. It is my hope and prayer that God would use the words I say to change your life in a way you and I never thought possible!”
by leaps and bounds 