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Where Are My Promised Blessings from Paying Tithing?
Heavenly Father often bestows “significant but subtle” blessings instead of immediate miracles when we pay our tithing.
Malachi prophesied that if we give our tithes to God, then He will open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing, “that there shall not be room enough to receive it” (Malachi 3:10).
With that promise, we often hear stories of miraculous and immediate blessings that came to those who honored the commandment to pay their tithing. But what happens if we don’t receive similar blessings in our times of desperate temporal need? Not seeing similar blessings come to pass in our own lives can be disheartening. We may even ask, “Am I not blessed?”
Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles reminds us that “the windows of heaven open in many ways. Some are temporal, but many are spiritual. Some are subtle and easy to overlook. Trust in the Lord’s timing; the blessings always come.”1
Teachings from Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles can also help us see that the blessings we receive can come in a multitude of ways that we may not be considering. He said, “Some of the diverse blessings we obtain as we are obedient to this commandment [the law of tithing] are significant but subtle. Such blessings can be discerned only if we are both spiritually attentive and observant (see 1 Corinthians 2:14).”2
Looking for and recognizing the significant but subtle blessings of paying a full tithe can help us understand that God is aware of us and is blessing us.
Significant but Subtle Blessings
God’s will is not always the same as ours (see Isaiah 55:8–9). Because of that, God’s blessings may not always come to us in the way we desire or expect. For instance, Elder Bednar provided some examples of unexpected blessings that can come from paying tithing: “Sometimes we may ask God for success, and He gives us physical and mental stamina. We might plead for prosperity, and we receive enlarged perspective and increased patience, or we petition for growth and are blessed with the gift of grace. He may bestow upon us conviction and confidence as we strive to achieve worthy goals. And when we plead for relief from physical, mental, and spiritual difficulties, He may increase our resolve and resilience.”3
Elder Bednar also suggested that sometimes “the blessing that comes to us through heavenly windows may be greater capacity to act and change our own circumstances rather than expecting our circumstances to be changed by someone or something else.”4 See, for example, how a husband and wife from Argentina felt this in their life in their story “Why Do You Still Pay Tithing?”
God’s Timing
We can also learn to trust that blessings come in God’s own time and in His own way.
Elder Michael John U. Teh of the Seventy said: “When we obey the law of tithing, we ... should not give the Lord a deadline. There is a tendency for some to expect the material blessings to come at a certain time of their own estimation. This is how most lose their confidence in His promises. They are faithful in the beginning but then cease to obey after some time when their expectations are not met. We need to recognize that all things are done according to the Lord’s will and timetable and not ours.”5
Understanding that God’s timetable is different from ours can help us better recognize that just because we have not had an immediate miracle, it does not mean we are not blessed.
God’s Wisdom
President Dallin H. Oaks, First Counselor in the First Presidency, taught: “Someone has said that life is what happens to us while we are making other plans. Because of things over which we have no control, we cannot plan and bring to pass everything we desire in our lives. Many important things will occur in our lives that we have not planned, and not all of them will be welcome.”6
In our mortal journey, even those who are obedient to the law of tithing may experience the financial struggles of unemployment, unexpected emergencies, mismanagement of finances, or stagnant wages. Knowing that God is in control can help us grow in faith and patience as we search for the significant and subtle blessings of tithing. It might be that some of these difficulties are actually blessings that will help us grow through the trial itself.
Elder Hugh B. Brown of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (1883–1975) once shared such a lesson he learned while pruning a currant bush on a farm in Canada.
As he went about cleaning up and repairing his property, he came across a currant bush that had grown over six feet high and was yielding no berries. Therefore, he pruned it back drastically, leaving only small, teardrop-shaped stumps. The sight made it appear as if the currant bush were crying, and Elder Brown thought he heard the bush say:
“‘How could you do this to me? I was making such wonderful growth. … And now you have cut me down. … I thought you were the gardener here.’”
Elder Brown replied, “‘Look, little currant bush, I am the gardener here, and I know what I want you to be. If I let you go the way you want to go, you will never amount to anything. But someday, when you are laden with fruit, you are going to think back and say, “Thank you, Mr. Gardener, for cutting me down, for loving me enough to hurt me.”’”7
When we struggle financially and do not see the promised blessings of paying tithing, we may tearfully ask God in similar manner, “How could you do this to me? I am doing all that you have asked. And now you have cut me down.”
In these times, we can take a moment to consider if the trials we are experiencing will actually bring great blessings from lessons we learn along the journey. We can learn to more fully trust the Gardener and the blessings He has in store for us as we stay close to Him.
Continued Hope and Prayers
The subtle but significant blessings God gives us from paying tithing can help us rise above many difficulties of the world. Our loving Heavenly Father will perfectly tailor these blessings to help us grow and become more like Him. As we practice faith in recognizing and accepting all blessings that come, we can see the fulfillment of Malachi’s promise.
When doubt and despair rise from financial struggles, if we tearfully question if we are blessed, we do not give up hope! Instead, we can pray to see the subtle and significant blessings the Lord has bestowed upon us and have faith in Heavenly Father’s plan for us.
As Elder Andersen has testified, “I promise you that as you trust in the Lord, the blessings of heaven will follow.”8