I have been a believer since 2003, but at the very beginning, my desire for the Lord was not very deep. At that time, I was rather spontaneous in my attitude towards worship, going to church whenever I wanted to go, but not if I was delayed by something. Later, I insisted on going every week just because I could not bear to refuse the kind invitation from other believers every time. In spite of this, God still treated me well, supported and looked after me all the way.
In 2005, my husband and I were both laid off from our jobs, and our family was immediately in trouble. The next year I found a job as an accountant with a meager salary of 800 yuan a month. Our church has always advocated tithing but giving only 80 yuan a month was a shame for me, so I tried to give 100 yuan, which had definitely put much pressure on me.
Then I prayed to the Lord, "Lord, I have the heart and will to persevere in tithing, but my ability is not enough, please give me the ability to give.” Malachi 3:10 says: “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.” By faith, I continued to keep tithing to "test" God on this only "temptation" that God allows and prayed for it.
But due to my busy work, I failed to persevere after praying once or twice. Wonderfully and thankfully, God indeed gave me the ability to give! My salary went up year after year, and after I was transferred to Wudang Mountain in Hubei Province in 2010, it went up to over 5,000 yuan, which was several times more than that four years ago. This was a very high salary in Wuhan at that time.
In 2012, I retired from Wudang Mountain and returned to Wuhan. Though my family’s situation gradually improved, I continued to work to pay my husband's pension every month, to support the elderly, and my daughter, as she did not have a stable job then.
As I had experienced God's power, I believed that He would help me find a job that paid no less than before. In the third month after I retired back to Wuhan, I found a job with a higher salary just as I had hoped, and I have been doing it until now. Up to now, I have carried on giving more to God. Next year I will be 60 years old and am very content with my life.
(The article is originally published by Gospel Times.)
- Translated by Wylie Sun
