“The Lord All-Powerful says, “Try this test. Bring one-tenth of your things to me. Put them in the treasury. Bring food to my house. Test me! If you do these things, I will surely bless you…” Malachi 3:10 (ERV)
Every time I think of blessings, I am reminded of God’s intentionality in Malachi 3:10, where He declares He will “…throw open the floodgates and pour out…” (NIV).
Think of a levy of blessings breaking at the floodgates. God is not gently opening the gates but throwing them open. He even backs this bold promise to His children with the earlier challenge that we should test Him. This begs the question to us believers – do we expect to receive God’s blessings? And how would we store it? I ponder this often and pray that God will give us the mindset of the ‘blessed,’ not because we deserve it but because He promised it.
We can operate with this mindset by doing three things:
- Receive – As children of God, we must receive Jesus in our hearts and operate in obedience (honesty). The Scripture asks in Verse 8 if a man can rob God. We can’t. We must guard our hearts and operate with honesty in all matters. Then, “…Good things will come to you like rain falling from the sky” ( Verse 10 – ERV). Wake up each morning desiring to give God our heart and be expectant that nothing good will be withheld from us if we walk upright. This also means preparing our earthly storehouse or treasury to receive.
- Record – We must also record the blessings by tithing (Malachi 3:10) as an act of worship and thanksgiving to the Supplier, our Jehovah Jireh. 1 Timothy 4:4-5 tells us that everything God created is good and should not be rejected. Receive it with thanksgiving.
- Redistribute – You might wonder what is meant to redistribute. Be assured that the Word of God always lays down a blueprint. In Malachi 3:10, we are urged to bring our tithes and offerings into God’s treasury so that there may be food in His house. This Scripture introduces three treasury systems. The first treasury in Heaven, the second treasury with us, His children, and the third treasury within the church.
When our financial resources and good deeds are redistributed to the church (pastoral sustenance and church expansion), our family (for our physical sustenance and stewardship), and the poor through generosity (giving), we will lay up our treasures in Heaven (Luke 12:33-34). What a cycle of blessing God has created for us. Let us adopt the mindset of the ‘blessed’!
Read: Psalm 107:8-9; Romans 8:5-6
Bible Reading Guide: Psalms 131; 1 Peter 1; 1 Peter 2:1-3; Ezekiel 41; Ezekiel 42
