Since Pastor Lisa had us read "The Blessed Life" by Robert Morris, God began dealing with me concerning tithing on my gross instead of my net income. Initially, I didn't think I could do it because I didn't think that I could afford it, and I recognized that it was the enemy who had been robbing me of my money and was determined to not let it continue. Even though it was a substantial amount more than what I was used to tithing, I gave in obedience. The first paycheck that I tithed on my gross income was one out of pure faith. I didn't see any miraculous increase happen immediately, but that didn't deter me from standing on the Word of God concerning Him supplying every need that I had and never letting me down. As the weeks went on, I continued to put a demand on the power of God's Word and watched how God was blessing my income and saw gradual stretch with each paycheck.
One day, I decided to get on Zillow to see how much my house was worth just for humor. The last time I checked was last year and the worth of it had only increased by maybe a couple grand. The other week I went on and saw that my house had increased by $600 alone in the last 30 days and the total estimate of my home's value had increased by $16,000!! I check again today and the value has again increased by at least another $4,000!
GOD IS SO GOOD!!! Even when I didn't see an instantaneous increase to my bank account, God provided increase in the value of my house which is WELL above what my house is definitely worth. I own a 1,362 sq ft home on 1.01 acres of land and it is estimated at a comparable price to larger homes in the neighborhood across the street from me. Not only that, but my previous employer (Memorial) sent me a check paying me for 2 hours of overtime they cheated me out of in the initial buyout by HCA and has the EXACT dates of when that happened. Even though it wasn't much, it was time, gas and earned money that they refused to give me back in March of this year that has finally been released to me! God is faithful when we not only tithe what belongs to Him, but GIVE in offerings as well. Every blessing may not be monetary, but it's a testament to God's character that He sees everything and honors our obedience.