GOD'S ECONOMY

It's Not Too Late to Have a Job and Life You Love

By Tim Smith
The 700 Club

CBN.com - As a single mother, Joni Ontiveros wanted to provide her two children with everything they needed. But with no job skills or college education, she struggled to find work and eventually had to live on welfare and food stamps.

“No one likes to be poor,” remembers Joni. “It’s humiliating. It’s embarrassing. It’s shameful. I didn’t plan to have to be on housing assistance. I didn’t plan any of the things that happened in my life. You start taking on this mindset of doing the best you can with what you have, and that’s where I was.”

She was 31 when she went to church with a friend and accepted Jesus as her Saviour.

“My heart changed immediately, to the point that the next day (and I’ve heard people say this, and I thought, ‘That’s just a cliché’), the sky was bluer, I could hear the birds clearer, I could smell things that I couldn’t smell before. It was amazing!”

Empowered by her faith, she determined to get off welfare and provide a better life for herself and her children. She learned from her pastor that it starts with tithing and giving.

“He went on to talk about if you are faithful, and how that’s the one area where you can test God. You can actually test God. And in that, I was like, ‘Hmm? Well, let me see!’ So I decided this was an area I needed to surrender. I needed to trust God, and I did.

As she began to give, things started to turn around for her family.

“It wasn’t soon after that my children both got qualified for a GATE program, the Gifted and Talented Education Program here in California. I found a home walking distance from that program, which was wonderful.”

As for Joni, she started taking whatever work she could find and eventually enrolled in night classes. She says she kept giving and God was always faithful.

“It’s the people of God that make the body, and it’s up to us to support the work of God on this earth. And that’s what the church does.”

After several years of working hard, she landed a full-time job at Southwestern College near San Diego, where she works today.

“And it wasn’t long after that, that God started doing miracle after miracle in my life. And He hasn’t stopped.”

Joni says even without a degree, she got numerous promotions over the years. In 2013, she earned her bachelor’s degree.

“At 50 years old, I was finally able to purchase my first condo. I bought my first brand new car. The next year I bought my second car.”

She also started giving above her tithe to ministries, like CBN.

“I saw an episode with Operation Blessing and it captured my attention. And I really liked what they were doing. I believed in what they were doing. And I realized a lot of what they share, everything they share, is Gospel-centered, Christ-centered - people serving the Lord. It’s just the plain truth.”

Joni loves her job, and she gives God all of the glory for the success in her life.

“All of these things have been linked to my faithfulness in tithing, I have no doubt. There wouldn’t have been a way without that. God is wonderful, and all I can do is say, ‘Thank you, Lord’ and if He can do it for me, He can do it for anyone - anyone!”

Being obedient to God's truth made an incredible difference for Joni. She made herself available for God's love to flow through her to others, and she is reaping a blessing herself as well. Join her in partnering with CBN. You will make a difference in lives around the world, through medical missions, food and clothing programs, humanitarian outreaches and so much—all in the name of Jesus. Please join today.

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