For many, the idea of bringing the first 10% of our income to the Church seems overwhelming. We’ve all felt it. That end-of-the-month squeeze where you look at your bank account, you look at your bills, and you can’t help but wonder, “Is there going to be enough?” It’s a heavy feeling, one that can lead to stress and sleepless nights.

And right in the middle of that very real pressure, many of us feel a quiet pull in our hearts to do more, to be more generous, to help others, to make a difference. But the voice of stress often whispers back, “How can you possibly give anything away when you’re barely making it yourself?”

This tension between our desire to be generous and the fear of not having enough is where so many of us live. It can keep us in a small, safe life, holding tightly to what we have. But what if God is inviting us into a bigger story? A world that gets “larger and larger” through generosity, not smaller and smaller through fear?

Consider the story of a parent in our church family who was walking through a season of intense financial pressure. With a family to care for and a budget stretched to its absolute limit, the thought of being generous felt impossible, even terrifying.

“I was very, very concerned,” they shared. “I felt like maybe I needed to keep more of my income... I got very scared.” But they chose to trust God, and what happened next is a story you need to hear. “It’s not even about the money,” they realized, “it’s about that God wants your heart.”