We asked our members to share some Miracle Stories of God’s Faithfulness and boy, did they answer! We’ve decided to compile many of those shorter stories for you to see the beauty of taking a step in faith. Enjoy!
Food or Tithe?
Rex and I were young, with two little boys, and it was the dead of winter. Rex was out of work. It was either tithe or food. We chose tithe. The next day, Rex walked to the store to see if they would give us credit to buy the basics. It was snowing, and he volunteered to help a lady put chains on her car. She hugged him and slipped 20 dollars in his pocket. Back then, it was more than enough to see us through! God is ALWAYS faithful.
-Norma Shepherd
Adventist Education Sponsors
Two and a half years ago, I began watching Understanding Bible Prophecy on CW TV every Sunday morning. At this point, I had stopped going to church, but something was missing, and I was not growing spiritually. At the time, my son was four years old, and I wanted him to know Jesus too. One Sabbath, I visited the church, and during announcements, I learned that there are schools too. I said, “Jesus, I want my son to be a part of a family, school, and church like this!” By the time he was six years old, we decided to go for it. I was not going to let my financial situation hold me back anymore. We enrolled him, and God made a way possible for me to pay what I could, and God covered the rest! In 6th grade and now in 7th grade, my son has had the privilege of having a donor cover his tuition. My son had Acrofest coming up, and we didn't have a sponsor yet. Just as He always does, God worked a miracle, and BAM! Donation after donation came through, and by the time the week came for the team to go to Michigan, the whole cost was covered! When I GIVE of myself, when I'm giving my heart, time, attention, and money to God, to further His will, He has shown me in more ways than I can count that He has been, is, and will always be faithful, even when I am not. I praise His holy name!
-Shawna Ashley
Tithe 90%!
The one experience I do remember is unbelievably incredible. I was fairly new to the tithing concept as a "baby" Christian but began as soon as I learned about it. God was always faithful to supply my needs and wants. As my faith grew along with my tithing efforts, the thought occurred to me that I could double tithe. I did, and I was doubly blessed. I kept increasing the amount I was tithing until one day I decided to try tithing 90% and keeping the 10% for myself. I barely understand human math, and I sure don't understand God's math, but I do know it works!! You cannot outgive God! The 10% was more than enough.
-Deborah Warden
More Than Enough
A couple had four children. Mom homeschooled the children. Dad had a full-time job and another part-time job to make ends meet. It happened that the eldest child needed glasses. They prayed that somehow God would bless them with the means to pay for them. Adding up the bills, they found that their tithe and offering would take the bank account to zero. They prayed, wrote the check, and went to church. As they put it in the plate, they thanked God for His blessings on them. After church, a couple who were friends handed them an envelope and said to open it at home. When they got home, they opened it. In it was a check for $1,000. Calling the couple, they found out that they had received a sum of money and had prayed for six months about what to do with it. The night before church, they prayed again, and the name of the young couple with four children repeatedly came up. God blessed them and the young family for their faithfulness. My son and his wife, and my grandchildren.
-Yvonne Stewart
$91,000 Lawsuit - Acquitted
I was in a car accident on August 10 of this year. It was my fault. I totaled our SUV and caused the car I hit to flip end over end, hit a bus stop, then roll twice sideways. The folks in that vehicle were okay because they had their seatbelts on. However, the guy waiting at the bus stop for the bus wasn't so lucky; he had life-threatening injuries. I prayed every day that God would help him to survive, and two and a half weeks later, I found out that he was out of the hospital. By then, Brian and I got a new SUV, the other people's car was replaced, and the guy from the bus stop was on his way to recovery. I thought the nightmare I had caused was finally over. Then I got hit with a $91,000 lawsuit, then served papers by the sheriff's office that a court date was chosen, and I was scared that I would have to work three jobs, 100 hours a week, to pay him. I know I caused him pain. I know that I hurt this man, but that amount was extreme. I asked God once again, first to help that fellow be okay and heal him from the damage I caused, then I asked God to please help me with that lawsuit. It was an accident. I would never hurt anyone on purpose. I guess the judge took a look at everything, and the case just got dismissed. That is my miracle. I know in my heart that God helped me. He played a role in that. That's my story, that's my miracle. I am thankful for God, to God, for letting the facts of the accident come out.
-Jacqueline Griesbaum
What’s Your First Check?
Our story starts years ago and wasn't in Oklahoma, but it includes paying bills time and time again without paying tithe or giving offering. Starting the process again and coming up in the negative one more time before all the checks were written, I went into a typical husbandly outburst. My wife and I talked, then with a renewed sense of "okay God, show us what you've got," I erased everything out of the checkbook and started over by finally writing a tithe check first and bill checks second, and ending up with money in our account left over. We called it God math. We haven't looked back since, and our finances have gotten better and better since that time. And tithe checks always get written first.
-Paul Carter Jr.
Rounding Up
When I first came into the church 30 years ago, I struggled with the outrageous idea of tithing. I was a single mom working for myself as a massage therapist with no guarantee of anything. When I realized I was just barely covering everything each month and I was just barely tithing—as I was rounding down—out of fear, I decided to start rounding up instead. I had to exercise my faith and trust! And my life changed.
-April McNeil
Money-in, Money-out
I have owned my own business for many years, and starting out there would be a lot of times when I knew what money I had coming in, and it didn't match the amount of money I had going out. But if I was faithful to go ahead and pay my 10% tithe, it seems like I always had enough money at the end of the month to pay my bills.
-Brian McDonald
Everyday Miracles
Nothing special like "Bam!" Just that God always takes care of us, and our bills are able to be paid. Clothes and shoes last longer, finding some money in a pants or jacket pocket in the closet that had been there for a long time, and I just happened to wear that article of clothing and reached into the pocket only to find enough money to get gas or a little bit of groceries. People giving us discounts on something big. And not getting sick when flu season rolls around. Staying healthy. Just everyday stuff. We're thankful, and only when we look back on our lives do we realize how God has really watched over us.
-Bruce Williams
Sold!
This is an obvious recent one. My name is Merle Bernhardt, and my wife's name is Holly. We moved here 14 years ago because of Adventist Fellowship. We have since retired, and four years ago we were blessed by God with a house we don't deserve in Florida. My parents were faithful givers and passed on to me the importance of generosity. Because of many reasons, but some of it financial, we both came to the decision that we needed to sell our home in Bixby. We only had budgeted a couple of months to fix it and sell it. Because I realized that was asking a lot, I started to stress. But thanks to some of the pastor's great sermons, I realized that I couldn't do it and gave it to God. I immediately had peace. Soon after, I had an offer for my house at the full asking price if they could keep most of the furniture, and we could close as soon as possible. Thanks to God's blessing, I got what was almost impossible—the financial relief I needed and moved in time to enjoy Thanksgiving with my family and peace of mind while I was waiting.
-Merle Bernhardt