By Jasmine Perdue

Malachi 3:10

“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in the house. Test me in this says the Lord Almighty, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it”.

 

So I will be honest my whole life I have read this verse and thought the Lord was saying, “If you will be obedient and faithful to give your tithe and any other offerings I lead you to give then I will in turn bless you abundantly financially.” I have thought so many times that obedience equals blessings! Now some of you may be thinking, “Wow that is way off,” but I guarantee I am not the only one who has had the same mindset at times. However, now that I have truly been tested, the Lord has been opening my eyes to a new concept of this verse.

My husband and I were just going along a few weeks ago and the Lord told us individually that we were supposed to fulfill a particular need. We both thought about it for a few weeks without saying a word to each other. A week later we were sitting at dinner and my husband said, “I believe the Lord has called us to do this….” You can imagine the look on my face when I told him God had already told me the same thing. There was no denying that this was God’s will for us.

Well I must confess we were not as quick to obey as we should have been. It took us a week to be obedient. We went through days of questioning God, doubting His provisions, wondering why us and why such a difficult testing? But after a week of wrestling with the Lord in fear and many tears we surrendered and chose to obey. Over the next few days that passed, the Lord gave me a verse to hold on to every day that would encourage me and help me. He was not only calming my fears, but opening my heart as well. I started seeing things differently than I had before. I could feel this work that the Lord was doing in my heart to change my perspective.

What if the blessing for obedience does not come through financial abundance but abundant spiritual growth in our lives?

The Lord started opening my heart and mind to a concept that I had never considered before. What if the sacrifice does not mean that I will be blessed in return financially, but blessed spiritually in a way that is priceless? My focus started shifting from material expectations to spiritual incite.

Proverbs 3:5 says, “Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own.”

I still don’t understand fully why, but I don’t have to figure it out. I can rest in the shear fact that I am protected because of my obedience. God is not going to call us to do something and then not meet our needs. He knows everything and our limited supply did not surprise the Lord at all! He knew every facet of the situation and He still called us to do it.

Maybe the blessings my husband and I will receive will be increased faith in the Lord’s provisions. Maybe it will be a platform for opening our eyes for other needs. Maybe it will be a time of growth in having to depend on Him completely and not on our own resources. Maybe through all of this we will receive the biggest blessings of all in ways that we never expected.

Proverbs 3:27, “Never walk away from someone who deserves help; your hand is God’s hand for that person.”

This was one of the verses that God gave me a few days after and I was absolutely speechless and blown away at the timing and message of that verse. My heart filled with blessings immeasurable! What an honor to know that not only did we help meet a need but our hands were God’s hands reaching out to that person! Even now my eyes are filling with tears. Think about that! What an act of worship to the Lord! What a blessing and privilege to be able to be a part of God’s work! What an honor to know we were allowed the blessing of being Jesus’ hands. I can’t explain it, but in that moment I felt like I had washed the feet of Jesus.

Matthew 25:40, “And the King will answer them, I assure you: Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.”

I could not see that before we obeyed. All I could see was fear and doubts. After obedience I felt a heart full of joy knowing that I had the privilege of giving to Jesus Himself! I owe My Savior everything I have and everything I am! He owns it all and I could never repay Him for the undeserving gift of His death for me and my salvation! But I can show Him gratitude and worship through meeting a need of one of His dear children!

So I urge you today that if the Lord calls you to do something you feel that you can’t do, test Him. If He tells you to meet a need for someone, test Him. If He has told you to do something and you are afraid, test Him. You may have to obey with fear in your heart and tears in your eyes, but remember that “Where He guides He provides.” It may not always be a financial sacrifice that He calls you to do. It could be a sacrifice of your time. It could be serving at church. It could be a change in jobs. It could be a sacrifice of selflessness to your spouse. Wherever and whatever God calls you to do don’t miss the blessing by dwelling on your limited supply. Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace!

Test Him and see what our God can do!!!