"If God really wanted me to tithe, He'd make my finances less tight"
How it sounds in your head: You're barely scraping by on retirement income. If God wanted you to give, wouldn't He provide FIRST? It feels like a test you're set up to fail. Maybe He doesn't actually expect it from someone in your financial position. Surely He's more understanding than that.
"For if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have."
-- 2 Corinthians 8:12Enemy reversing order, making God's blessing dependent on your circumstances instead of your obedience.
Your finances ARE tight and it feels like God should make a way BEFORE asking you to give. Asking you to tithe while struggling feels like He's being unreasonable or unaware of your reality.
God told Elijah to go to the brook Cherith during a FAMINE and said 'I have commanded the RAVENS to feed you there.' Provision came in the PLACE of obedience, not before it. Elijah had to GO to the brook FIRST—then ravens brought bread and meat morning and evening. Obedience preceded provision.
I REFUSE the lie that God provides before I obey. IT IS WRITTEN that He looks for a willing mind and accepts what I HAVE, not what I don't have. Elijah went to the brook FIRST and ravens fed him THERE—provision meets obedience, not hesitation. I don't wait for open windows to tithe; I tithe and THEN windows open. My 'tight' finances aren't disqualification—they're the STAGE for breakthrough. IT IS WRITTEN in Philippians 4:19 that my God supplies ALL my need. I am Abraham's seed with the BARAK blessing that multiplied wealth in FAMINE. I give the seed, then watch the harvest. I am BLESSED in my going out and coming in, and my obedience unlocks HEAVEN'S SUPPLY!
The Father sees your tight budget and isn't asking you to figure it out first—He's asking for your SEED so He can EXPLODE it into supply. Like Elijah going to the brook before ravens showed up, He's inviting you to MOVE in obedience and watch Him meet you THERE with supernatural provision. He's not testing you to make you fail—He's setting you up to WATCH Him show off on your behalf.