You Are Reading Open Heavens Daily Devotional 3rd December 2017 – Pastor E.A. Adeboye
Topic: Tithing is Trusting
Memorise: Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. Proverbs 3:5
Read: Proverbs 3:5-7 (KJV)
3:5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
3:6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
3:7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil.
Bible in one year: Psalm 93 – 101, Nahum 3:5-19, Sing Hymn 14
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MESSAGE: To experience exploits in your life, you must have a personal relationship with God. You must believe that He lives and love Him with all your heart. You must also learn to trust in Him. The command to pay tithes on your earnings simply places a demand on you to trust in God. Your response to this command shows the level of trust you have in Him. If you can pay your tithe correctly, it shows that you trust God for your livelihood, but if you find it difficult to be faithful in doing this, it simply shows that you trust more in your earnings than in God to sustain you.
After I became newly born again and we were taught to pay tithes, I laughed and said in my mind, “These people do not know that I am a mathematician. If 100% is not enough for me, how can 90% be enough after I have paid 10% as tithe? Thank you very much! Even though these people are not educated, they still want to use their smartness to take 10% of my income from me. Let them try and take it” However, down the line, God convinced me by Himself and I observed remarkable changes in my life.
In those days, I was a lecture in the university. I had a car but was afraid to drive in Lagos so I got a driver. At the end of the month, I would pay my driver his salary, but by the middle of the next month, I would have to borrow money from him to buy petrol (gasoline). This happened month after month. I continued to struggle with my finances and even had to spend all my earnings. However, when I started paying my tithes, I suddenly realized I did not need a driver anymore, because boldness came from nowhere and I could now drive myself. Also, I did not have to visit hospitals again because I now had the Great Physician as my doctor. My children did not fall sick again, and that leakage in my finances was blocked off. All of a sudden, doors of opportunities began to open to me because I trusted the Lord.
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Are you still struggling with tithing? If you are, it only shows that you do not trust God to take care of you. The truth is, whatever you are paid may never be sufficient to meet all your needs because you are limited to that source, whereas you are open to various devourers. In contrast, when you tithe, you will have access to resources beyond your income because God’s storehouse will be opened to you, and He will also block every source of losses in your life. It is a matter of choice. Why don’t you start trusting God from today by paying your tithe faithfully?
Key Point: It is shocking to know that quite a number of God’s children cannot trust God with their finances.
Thanks for reading. Open Heavens Daily Devotional Messages was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God.