Malachi 3:10 – "Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do," says the Lord of Heaven's Armies, "I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won't have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put Me to the test!" (NLT)

Twenty years ago, when I was forty years old — almost to the day — I was diagnosed with Parkinson's. This was quite a shock at the time, but over the years, I have realized that it was a blessing and that God had His reasons for allowing this disease to come upon me. For one thing, it has brought me a lot closer to God than I would have ever have been without Parkinson's. I have learnt to trust in God so much more. One example is in my tithing. I now realize that if I tithe, God gives us back a lot more than ten percent. I have been blessed by God, working through other people.

As an example, there is now an operation that can be performed called Deep Brain Stimulation that does wonders for people with Parkinson's, but it costs (here in Australia) somewhere between twenty and fifty thousand dollars. When we first heard of this two or three years ago, my wife and I discussed it, and since there was no way we could ever afford such a large amount, we had dismissed the idea of having this surgery. Then about three months ago, we were sitting in church one Sunday morning, when our pastor came up to us and said that someone had contacted him and had offered to pay for me to have this surgery. Once again, God has blessed us much more than we deserved.

Prayer: Thank You, heavenly Father, for the many ways You bless us. Help us to give back to You a portion of what You have given freely to us. Amen.

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