Last week at Bible study  our group had a great discussion about trusting God with our finances. It was so nice to share and hear from others the varied ways God stretches our faith to trust Him in this area.  For most of us, it is an area that we often struggle with for some time before we finally let go of the fear that He will not meet our needs as He promises and we begin to obey Him with our giving.

I can now say with certainty that when we tithe to our local church and bless others along the way, God will  ensure our needs are always taken care of. I have seen it in others lives, lived it and am convinced of it. I have also found that He will often provide in ways that I have never expected through means I never expected!  On the other side of the coin. There was a time when I resented giving my tithe and decided  to just not give it until things improved in my finances. This backfired. I was never so discouraged or financially pressed as during those years.

Does God need our money? NO, He does not. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills. He does however know what it can come to mean to us and He looks at our heart. Our we trusting Him to care for us as we care for His church and others?  The bible tells us that God loves a cheerful giver. If you are struggling with your finances, look to Him to help you through but start with yourself.  Are you helping  to support your local church and bless others? Or are you waiting till you have it all together?  If you are a follower of Christ, you cannot ignore your obligation to support your church. Nor should  you turn a blind eye to others when they are in need. Begin with obedience to Him and you will see His hand move in your life in ways you never expected!

Here are a few  scriptures that I hope will be both a nudge and a blessing to you regarding finances…

2Corinthians 9:7 NIV⁷ Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Malachi 3:10 NIV¹⁰ 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 and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.

1 Timothy 6:10 NIV¹⁰ For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

Proverbs 3:9,10 NIV ⁹ Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops;¹⁰ then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.

Ecclesiastes 5:10 NIV Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless.

Phillipians 4:19 NIV¹⁹ And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

And finally one of my favorite verses…

Proverbs 22:9 NIV The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor.