How God Taught Me to Give

By: Oswald J Smith.

Let me tell you how God taught me to give. I will never forget it. It is a lesson that has remained with me to this day. I had been the pastor in a large Presbyterian Church in Toronto. One day I resigned and finally, became a pastor of a church that knew how to give in a way I had never known.

I commenced my pastorate on the first Sunday of January, at a time when they were holding their annual missionary convention. I had never seen one in all my life. I did not know the first thing to do. So I just sat there on the platform and watched.

The ushers were going up and down the aisles, giving out envelopes. Presently, to my amazement, one of the ushers had the audacity to walk right up the aisle and hand me – the pastor – one of the envelopes. I sat there holding it in my hand. Never will I forget that moment. I can still remember it as though it were yesterday.

As I held it, I read: ‘In dependence upon God, I will endeavour to give toward the Missionary work of the church $______ during the coming year.’

I had never read such a statement before. It was the first time in my life that I had ever been in a missionary convention. I did not know that morning that God was going to deal with me and teach me a lesson that I was never going to forget, and one that I was to teach to score of other churches in the years to come.

At first I started to pray. I said ‘Lord God you know I can’t do anything. You know I have nothing. I haven’t a cent in the bank. I haven’t anything in my pocket. This church only pays me $25 a week. I have a wife and child to keep. We are trying to buy our home and everything is sky high in price.’ All that was true, the first World War was on.

‘I know that,’ the Lord said. ‘I know you are only getting $25 a week. I know you have nothing in your pocket and nothing in the bank.’

‘Well then,’ I continued, ‘that settles it. I have nothing to give and I cannot give anything.’

It was then that the Lord spoke. I will never forget it. ‘I am not asking you for what you have’ He said.

‘You are not asking me for what I have Lord?  Then what are you asking?’ I replied.

‘I am asking you for a faith offering. How much can you trust me for?’

‘Oh, Lord’ I exclaimed, ‘that’s different. How much can I trust you for?’

Now of course I knew nothing about a faith offering. I had never given such an offering in my life. But I knew the Lord was speaking. I thought He might say $5 or perhaps even $10. Once in my life I had given $5 for missions. Once I had given $3. But never more. I almost trembled as I waited for the answer.

Presently it came. Now I am not going to ask you to believe that God spoke to me in an audible voice, but He might just as well have done so. I was scarcely conscious if the congregation,as I sat there, listening to the voice of God. God was dealing with me that morning though I did not realise it at the time.

‘How much can I give?’ I asked.

‘Fifty dollars.’

“Fifty dollars!’ I exclaimed. ‘”Why Lord, that’s two weeks salary. How can I ever get $50?’

But again the Lord spoke and it was the same amount. I was just as clear as though He had spoken in an audible voice.

I can still remember how my hand trembled as I took my pencil, signed my name and address and wrote in the amount $50.

How I paid it I don’t know to this day. All I know is that every month I had to pray for $4, and every month God sent it in some miraculous way. At the end of the year I had paid the entire amount – $50.

But this is what I want to make clear. I received such a blessing, there came to my heart such a fullness of the Spirit, it was such a thrill, that, as I paid the full amount I realised it had been one of the greatest experiences of my life.

So great was the spiritual blessing that had come to me because I had given a faith offering – I had trusted God for a certain amount, I had given in a scriptural way – that the next year at the convention, I doubled the amount to $100. And from that day to this, I have been sending on thousands upon thousands of dollars to the Bank of Heaven. If I had waited until I had it, I never would have given it, because I never would have had it. But I gave it when I didn’t have it. I gave a faith offering and God honored it.