STORIES - JOHN & DEANNE WILKES

​  God has been growing my trust in His provision (finances) for many years.  Several years back Deanne (my wife) and I were at a time in life where monthly bills were extremely tight.  Tithing was something we always did, but during this particular season the pressure had been ramped up.  We had transitioned to being a one income family and now had a young daughter.  I started questioning the wisdom in giving a large portion of our monthly income back to God.  Why put ourselves through this stress? Why not take care of ourselves first and then others? These were just some of the big questions we were pondering.  One month we had another significant shortage and were faced again with trusting His ways or our own.  
We knew several things God had been teaching us at this point.  We wanted to stay faithful in giving in all seasons of our life, whether in plenty or scarcity.  Giving was something that we had always done and Lord willing, would continue for the rest of our lives.  Deanne and I also were united in not using a credit card to cover the gap between paychecks under any circumstances.  So there we were…faced with a decision of trusting Him who had always given us so much.  
I realize now it was not a question of how much money we would trust Him with, but rather the work of peace He wanted to do in my heart, mind, and soul.  Giving had always been a pleasure, because I could see the fruits of what God did with what I gave….that is an amazing experience and beautiful attribute of our Father in heaven.  However, the unexpected transformation in my heart was and still is true healing.  A healing from the constant striving, worrying, and value I had placed on finances.  God wanted to heal that part of my thinking that had been corrupted by sin’s deceitfulness.  I had lost so much sleep and robbed myself of so much joy by agonizing over where a decimal point was at on my bank account.  
So the end of the month drew near and we gave our usual amount.  We were still short a certain dollar amount or we were going to have to look for other options (borrowing from friends, family, etc.)  However, at just the right time and almost to the penny the right amount….a check showed up in our mailbox.   I was beside myself…I had read about God doing these sorts of things, but never experienced it in such a personal way.  We are still in awe of Him today and the way He pours out His love to people.  His generosity is staggering.   His ways are so good and can always be trusted.  Praise God for the body of Christ at Cold Springs who have encouraged us to live life His way in all seasons.