Floodgates

Thinking on recent events in my life and just spending some time with my best friend, God, I was reminded of a scripture:

Malachi 3:10

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."

When I first started attending church regularly and I began to truly feel the relationship with God and the power of the Holy Spirit in my life, I still tried to retain control by only giving a 2% tithe and then a 5% tithe... I was working up to it, unsure if I could REALLY trust God with my finances. Finances that I could use to pay off debt instead of giving it to the church. God kept speaking to me over and over, knocking on my heart and reminding me to trust him. He even gave me two visions of my future in just a few months before I was giving 10% tithe. I came to a crossroads, prayed about it, talked it over with my husband, and jumped in with both feet ALL IN. I started giving the full 10%.

Around that same time I also started praying about how I could give more to the church in other ways, through time, talent, or fulfilling needs. I felt I was not quite giving my full percentage of embracing my role of being OF the church, not just in it.

Well, within just two months of this faithfulness, prayer, and committed tithing the floodgates began pouring. There are times that there are so many things happening that I wonder if I should feel overwhelmed, but I don't, they all are working well in my life. I have been blessed to start giving my heart in more of a leadership role in the church, my career is taking off, my debt seems to be decreasing faster than I am paying, and I have started working on my own business! Truly and amazingly a flood.

Your floodgates are in Heaven. God spoke to my heart and reminded me of how the floodgate holds back the water but sometimes the floodgates are forced to open when there is a lot of rain. You are the barrier to allowing that flood of blessings to flow through, you are keeping it at bay by locking the gates. God wants to be there, but you have to create space for him through trust and faith. In the same manner, those gates are forced to open with continuous rainfall; the floodgates of Heaven are forced to open with our faithful tithing continuous prayers.

Proverbs 3:5

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;