Trust

Last week I shared a story about how God protected me from injury on my way home. The reason I shared that story is because sometimes there is a clear storyline between what God asks us to do and the end result. I felt I had to pray Psalm 91 over myself and not long after, I saw God rescue me from getting injured.

However, most of the time we don’t get to see God’s hand so clearly. There are things that God has asked me to do that to this day, I have no idea what that was about. Truth of the matter is that we can’t wait to understand before we trust. When it comes to God, we simply need to trust. In order for us to be able to do that, we need to know who He is because it is in knowing Him that our trust in Him develops.

 It’s hard to trust someone you do not know. You do not walk up to a stranger, hand them your keys and ask them to hold them whilst you go buy groceries. That would be insane and if they stole the car, both parties are to blame. Make smarter decisions, lol. Using the same example, for whatever reason, say you don’t have pockets and don’t want to hold your keys, you can hand them to your friend or husband or someone you know and trust to keep them safe for you whilst you do the shopping. Trust comes when we know a person. It’s no different with God. The more we get to know Him, the more we trust Him.

I’ve heard people say that Christianity is like blindly following what the Bible says no questions asked. No. We have eyes, we can see. And nowhere in the Bible does it say we cannot ask questions. However, we are not called to walk by what we see or what we understand or what makes sense to us, we are called to walk by faith and that involves trusting that God is who He says He is and that He will do what He says He will do.

Today I was thinking about Malachi 3:10 which says, “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!” To me Malachi 3 is an invitation from God. He says, ‘obey My word and see what I will do for you in return’. It has one of the common themes in the Bible, ‘If you… then I’. God has already made the first move. He sent us Jesus. Most have given their lives to Jesus and are on their way to heaven. But God says whilst you wait for heaven, I want to bless you.

Hebrews 11:6 says, “And without faith living within us it would be impossible to please God. For we come to God in faith knowing that he is real and that he rewards the faith of those who passionately seek him.” So by faith, I chose to put God to the test like He said in Malachi 3 and over the years, time and time again, I have seen God do crazy things in my life. It didn’t happen overnight. I didn’t tithe once every few months or when I felt like it. I tithe consistently and honestly. You cannot cheat God. It’s better to over tithe than under tithe if there is such a thing because if you tithe less than you are supposed to, on purpose, then technically you are giving an offering which is great, but it doesn’t unlock the windows of heaven.

Over the years I have put God to the test and over the years He has proved Himself faithful. He has given me some of the most amazing people that I get to do life with. I have much better and healthier relationships than ever. He has given me awesome pastors that I have access to 24/7. I have peace and joy and contentment with life. In an amazing turn of events, I saw God make a way for me to get permanent residency earlier than I anticipated and in record time, I saw God make a way for my citizenship in Australia and right at the peak of the market, God made a way for me to buy a beautiful almost new home in Sydney Australia, on a single income.

God knows what we need. The tithe doesn’t necessarily mean God will pour bucketloads of money on you but that the windows of heaven are open, and you have 24/7 access to whatever you need. God will begin to put things in your life in order. The tithe makes room for God to begin moving and working on our behalf. But for you to be able to step out in faith you need trust God and for you to trust God, you need to know God.

To know God is to be acquainted with His word (Bible) and what it says about Him. Listen to good godly sermons, you can go to Maximize Church website and listen to my pastors Glenn and Esther Nurse’s sermons, or go to YouTube and listen to Bishop TD Jakes, Steven Furtick etc. Most importantly, find a local church that you can call home. The Christian journey is not a solo race, it is a team sport.

Love and blessings,

Melissa Tsingano.