My college-aged daughter was stressing about money. The deposits were due for two study abroad opportunities, and things were tight. When her paycheck arrived, she realized putting ten percent of it into an offering plate would be $50. She wrestled with it, and ultimately decided she didn’t want be stingy with God. She gave the offering—and then prayed God would somehow help her earn the additional $100 she needed for a financial cushion.

The very next day a friend reached out and said, “I want to work where you work. If you refer me, do you get a bonus?” 

I bet you’re not surprised to hear that the company’s referral bonus is $100. She called to share the amazing news and said, “Mom, God didn’t have to answer me right away, but he did.”

Seeing God provide for her was a reminder of his commitment: “‘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’” (Malachi 3:10).

God doesn’t actually need my daughter’s $50; he simply wants her heart, her trust, her faith. He wants her to know that everything she has—not just that ten percent—is actually his for her to manage and that he will provide.

That’s what he wants from you too. Test him in this.