I have a lot to say about this scripture found in Malachi.

If you are one that doubts this scripture this is for you.

For four years now we have faithfully given our tithe and followed in obedience when God tells us to give above and beyond. We have been on a very tight budget trying to get out of all debt.

In 2015 we felt that we needed to take the kids on a family vacation for their graduation present.  It would be the first family vacation we had taken together and possibly the only one (we are a blended family and since Shane and I got married in 2012, we have not all taken a vacation together.)

We started planning and budgeting knowing that this would work out and that God would provide in every aspect.

Once we made the reservations and the plans we set out on the year and a half journey of saving and budgeting on what was already a tight budget.

About two months after we started paying on this trip, Shane found out he needed to have surgery, which is money we had not budgeted in.

It was shortly after that I remembered our daughter was turning 16.  (I was in denial about that and forgot to budget those expenses in, which are not cheap!)

We knew that regardless of these extra unknown expenses, God is faithful and just like this verse says, He will provide abundantly for those that bring the full tithe to Him.

We found Rebekah a car in the budget that we had, we found a way to save a lot of money on insurance, and in other ways God continued to provide.

We never once thought about stopping our tithe, we never once thought about being disobedient when God was calling us to give in other areas.

God showed us ways to budget differently in other areas to allow for the different expenses that came up.

With that being said, as I type this we are home from a two week vacation for four adults driving to Florida and home.  The four of us were able to spend days at the beach in a beautiful condo, days at Disney and Universal, and a day in GA and TN. We came home with money left over….. which naturally is not possible, but supernaturally it is.

NONE of this would make sense on paper…. just like when we started tithing.  God is a good God and He wants to take care of us.

I will never be one to question our finances, and our bills as I know without a doubt God will provide.  I have watched it happen over and over for four years now.

Along with that He provided for us in priceless ways as well: we had safe travels there and back, the weather when we left was supposed to be raining every day we were in Florida however, it only happened in the evenings when it never effected what we were doing. All of our extended family were kept safe and healthy, and through all of this our faith was strengthened as we watched God answer prayer after prayer.  For over a year and a half we have prayed over this believing and expecting without a doubt all prayers would be answered and they were.

I am actually excited to see how He is going to work out the future as we both go back to school and have different expenses coming up in different areas.
So go ahead, test God…..but before you do… make sure you are tithing regularly and make sure you have a full on faith believing and expecting Him to provide.  Then hold on, because experiencing it is one of the most amazing feelings ever!

“Bring the WHOLE tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house.  Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven to pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.” Malachi 3:10 NIV