Day 273, or September the 30th. Give God the
benefit of the doubt. Our thoughts today are
from Malachi chapter 3, verse 10. Bring the whole
tithe into the storehouse, that there may be
food in my 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.
And now the big picture surrounding this verse. As
the last prophet in the Old Testament, Malachi
makes sure that he gives the people what God
is saying as straight as he knows how. He challenges
them to stop robbing God and try playing fair
with him. and he guarantees God will respond
so positively that they will wonder why they
didn't do it years ago. And now today's action
step. When push comes to shove, and we put things
to the test, they often fail miserably. I know
I have been the source of many people's disappointment,
but I am equally sure so have you. In fact, I
don't know anyone who hasn't. Thankfully, God
is a forgiving God, so I don't need to dwell
on our shortcomings because He doesn't. God tells
His people, through the prophet Malachi, to test
Him. Sadly, it seems very few of them did, and
the following 400 years are a barren wilderness
when God says nothing. Considering our verse
today, it's too easy to slip into the controversy
of tithing. I don't believe that this is the
core idea or the main teaching of this verse.
I believe that Malachi is simply telling the
people that when they give God his due, with
the right attitude, they will never regret it.
I have sympathy for those who see this as purely
financial and never get any further, but it's
so much more than that. We are to give God the
time he is due, the effort he is due, the obedience
he is due. the worship he is due, and of course,
the finance he is due, but that comes inevitably
when the other dues have been honoured. Trust
God more each day, and begin today, and you will
be amazed why you didn't do it years ago.