The Miracle in Giving

Posted on December 3, 2008 12:00 AM MST by Tiffany Kinerson

“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 you will not have room enough for it.” - Malachi 3:10

Ever since I started my first job at fourteen, I have tithed. It was a family priority that I did for no other reason than it was “the right thing to do.” But once I got into college and began paying my way through school, I began to see the floodgates of heaven that God talks about. One particular day, I received a bill from school that I would never be able to afford. So I took a heart-breaking roundabout route through campus, mentally closing out my time at the university. There seemed to be no escape route to save me from the path to fiscal failure.

But when my rounds took me to my post office box, I found a check from the IRS. A check. From the I...R...S? Apparently, they’d made a mistake on my last tax refund and never got the check to me. What? Has anyone in the world ever known the IRS to track down a person to 1) admit they were wrong and 2) give money back? It was crazy. And it was exactly the amount of money I needed to keep myself in school that semester. Nothing short of a miracle.

The coolest part about it is, the miracles in tithing have not ceased since then. During times of struggle, our family has received food in the mail, had other curious checks “appear” in our hands, rebates come when we least expected (but desperately needed) them, and gotten jobs when no one was hiring. We’ve even had our entire house carpeted for free. Amazing.

In Isaiah 58, God says that when we take care of the hungry and the wanderer—basically when we love our neighbors as ourselves through giving, He will give these blessings (brace yourself here):
- Your light will break forth like the dawn
- Healing will quickly appear
- Your righteousness will go before you 
- The glory of the LORD will be your rear guard
- You will call, and the LORD will answer
- You will cry for help, and He will say: Here am I
- Your night will become like the noonday
- The LORD will guide you always
- He will satisfy your needs
- He will strengthen your frame
- You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail
- You will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings

Healing? Quick (this is healing according to His will, not yours). Garden? Full and fruitful. Needs? Satisfied. Body? Strengthened. I have nothing to worry about when I trust Him and His ways. Amazingly, the miracle in giving is preached even in secular “get rich” books. Upon studying habits of the most wealthy, many researchers have found that they give much...and get much in return, no matter their belief system. And no one seems to be able to explain it.

I can explain it. God described it thousands of years ago. It’s His way. And His way always brings hope. Even during times when the future looks a little bit hopeless.

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