Tell of His Wondrous Works Series – God Provides
Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; tell of all His wonderous works! Ps. 105: 2 ESV
In the Beginning
My husband and I were a perfect match when we met. Both in our mid to late 20s -floundering trying to find our way in life and love. Many of our friends had already married, started a career, and even some a family. I was a new believer and he had been raised in a Bible teaching church.
We were in love and married after only a few months of dating and like many others, were naïve to extent to which that love would be tested (would any of us ever marry if we really knew?).
In the beginning married life was wonderful. After all, we were ready to take on the world after feeling we had finally found our soul mate. We had a great friend group, were college educated and working entry level jobs, and enjoying “adulting”.
Would any of us ever marry if we knew the degree to which our love would be tested?
Reality
The downhill slide happened a few years after we were married when our first son was born. We knew we wanted one of us to be a stay-at-home parent. Living on a single income was more difficult than we imagined, but we were making it. Then came the idea to start our own business with a small business loan. The business sputtered, debt piled up, and financial troubles escalated along with the stress on our marriage. Within a few years, we were blessed with the arrival of two more children. But the fledgling business failed and was dissolved, and we found ourselves under a mountain of debt and jobless.
There were jobs found and lost and the restrictive budget barely budged for bare essentials: tithe, bills, food, and gas. No extras. Anxiety ridden, I cautiously made minimal purchases at the grocery store or gas station. At this time, my husband preferred me not working outside the home, easing his mind of any concern for the kids. I did my best to honor his wishes (this was hypervigilance, a part of his CPTSD we didn’t know about at the time).
Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. (Malachi 3:10 ESV)
We lived on a very tight budget for years. No eating out, no vacations, no new clothes, no new anything, no fun. Our lives and marriage whittled down to little more than a daily goal of survival. Life was basically miserable (by first world standards anyway), but one thing we never stopped was tithing.
Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. (Malachi 3:10 ESV)
By the grace of God, my husband and I both had enough fear and awe of the Lord to continue to tithe even during extremely lean times. We wholeheartedly believed everything belonged to God and if we remained faithful in our giving, He would take care of us.
It was during these hard times that we learned to lean heavy on the Lord, believe His word and trust His provision even during impossible circumstances. And it looked impossible. At least on paper. For many years our budget did not add up. It came up short. But like the widow’s oil in in 2 Kings 4, God took what we gave and multiplied it to meet our need.
Today
As time went on and the kids grew, jobs came and went and came again, we paid off the small business debt and I returned to work part-time.
Fortunately, many years have passed since those flat, grinding days of merely scraping by. We have gone from surviving to thriving. Not because we were able to loosen the budget belt a notch or two. But because we have firsthand tasted and seen the Lord is good (Psalm 34:8).
Today I no longer fear money or job loss. God proved beyond a shadow of a doubt He is a generous, loving Father we can trust.
How have you seen God work in your finances?
