The Tithing Preservative

For the last few days, I’ve really gotten serious about the business side of my ministry. So much so, that I began to work on a business plan in order to map out all God given me to do. As I did, I became a little discouraged. That’s because it’s going to take thousands of dollars to get it done. Which led me to believe that I needed another job. But then I thought, that’s not in the Bible. God didn’t say He’d supply all of my needs according to a job. He said He’d supply my needs according to His riches in glory, which got me to asking, ‘How can I get all of this done without a job?’ Not saying that jobs are bad, not at all. But since what He gave me came by faith, then that be the way He'd finance my plans; according to my faith in His ability to supply my needs according to His riches. Keeping Track of What You Sow With that being said, I went to my seed files and looked over all the seeds I’d sown. Yep! I keep a spreadsheet of what I sow. I haven’t always been diligent to keep it updated, but I have it nonetheless. As I looked over my giving, certain seeds began to stick out to me. I noticed that I’d sown into several book publishing projects. I quickly tallied the amounts and then multiplied them by 30, 60, and a hundredfold which quickly got me excited because that meant that I could expect anywhere from $24k - $80k. I immediately thanked God for leading to sow into those ministries but then my lightning-fast mind got to thinking. ‘Girl, some of those seeds were sown over ten years ago. You don’t expect to still reap a harvest from those do you?’ Needless to say, after thinking about that for a while, my excitement deflated.

Seed Preservation

I decided to pray over my business plan. When I did, God let me know (not in an audible voice, but in my heart), that my seed was preserved. I was like ‘Preserved?’ He then showed me artificial preservatives. An artificial preservative is a chemical compound that slows down spoilage, prevents discoloration, hinders contamination, and preserves the freshness of a product1. They ‘increase the shelf life2' which means the product lasts longer. God then asked, ‘Where do you think Satan got the idea for artificial preservatives?’ Why, of course! He’d gotten that idea from God; only he corrupted it by making the preservatives harmful. After I thought about that, I laughed because I saw that what God was really telling me was that my business plan would succeed, and not just because I’d sown seed, but because I am a tither.

Keeping the Haters Away

Malachi 3:11 says, ‘And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,” says the Lord of hosts.’ What the scripture is saying is that God will rebuke the devourer. The Hebraic definition for devour means ‘to eat.’ Therefore, God was letting me know that He would stop the devourer from eating my fruit. My tithe was acting as a preservative that allowed Him to rebuke the birds, bugs, animals or people that would try to get in the way of my success. Just like artificial preservatives slow down spoilage, discoloration and keeps food fresh, the tithe does the same. My tithe preserved the seed I’d sown, which over time had become fruit. Which means though I sown years ago, my fruit was still fresh. Because I’ve been tithing faithfully, the Lord of Hosts assured me that He’d been faithfully preserving and watching over every seed I’d sown and as long as I tithe, would ensure that I reaped the harvest, no matter how long it’d been. And the good part is that the same thing is true for you. If you’ve sowed and haven’t seen a harvest, check up on your tithing. It could be that you haven’t received a return on your investment because your ground is unprotected.

Copyright 2018 © Real Issues Publishing®. All rights reserved

SOURCE:1, 2 http://www.foodadditivesworld.com/preservati