“Give, and you will receive gifts — the full measure,
compacted, shaken together and overflowing, will be put right in your lap. For
the measure with which you measure out will be used to measure back to you!”
I was a single mom, trying to support three kids on my
own. Their father was in prison, and I received no child support. I barely made
ends meet. How could I afford Christmas gifts?
Early in my faith, I learned the practice of tithing. I studied
the Scriptures on tithing and decided to take God at His Word.
“Bring the entire tithe into the storehouse so that there
may be food in my temple. Test me in this matter,” says the Lord of Heaven’s
Armies, “to see if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out
blessing for you until there is no room for it all” (Malachi
3:10).
Even when I couldn’t afford to give, I gave. My check to
my church was the first one I wrote on payday. I saw God come through for me
time and time again. I remember one incident when I needed $40.00 to pay a
bill, but I didn’t have anything in my bank account. When I picked up my mail,
there was a card from my mother-in-law with a note, “I felt I should send you this.”
Tucked inside was a check for $40.00.
If God could do this, He could make a way for Christmas
presents for my kids. Even though I didn’t have a nickel to buy anything, I had
to trust Him.
