You hear many Christians complaining about paying their tithe to the church.  They also hesitate to give offerings and alms, for fear of not having enough to pay their bills.  My husband and I have been tithing for over 25 years and have found the rewards to be great.  We don’t tithe with the idea of what will God give us if we do this.  God loves a cheerful giver; not one who gives begrudgingly or out of duty. (2 Cor. 9:7)

When we sold our farm and moved into town 3 years ago, we had an awesome experience regarding giving an offering.  When we moved into our little ranch style house we had to downsize dramatically.  We decided to have a huge garage sale.

About that time we loan some friends $1000. so they could go to Oklahoma to visit their daughter who had just been diagnosed with cancer.  They promised to pay us back from their income tax return.  When their check came, to their shock and dismay, the government had taken most of it to pay back something else they owed.  They brought us $300. and were almost in tears because they couldn’t pay us the rest.

We told them not to worry about it.  The Bible says to lend without expecting to get it back.  Our society tells us to charge interest and bug them until they pay back every penny.  My husband and I believed that God would somehow give us back the money.

One day that week we received a check back from over paid farm taxes for $706.  That weekend we made nearly $900. from our garage sale.  God paid us back more than double.  That is awesome!!

One Sunday I felt we should put an extra offering of $25. in the plate.  Monday I found $50. in my purse.  I have no idea how it got there.  God doesn’t always repay in money.  One time I made a special offering and received over $100. in clothing from a friend.  Once we thought our car repairs were going to be $1200. and found that the actual bill was only $150.  God always settles His accounts.

God’s way of doing things are so much better than ours.  His thoughts and ways are so much higher than ours.  So the next time you see a need, don’t be afraid to give in the name of Jesus.  He might just surprise you with a special blessing.