Test the Blessing

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 you will not have room enough for it.”

—Malachi 3:10

God desires for us to know and understand the blessing He has put in our lives. He wants you to walk in His blessing and for the world to see it. He doesn’t want you to struggle and just get by. He longs for your success and prosperity to be a witness of His goodness to the world around you. God doesn’t want you to strive with the curse of lack and poverty. He has blessed you so that His goodness will flow into your life for all to see. Then, of course, God’s goodness should flow as blessing from our lives into the lives of others.

Toward the end of the Old Covenant, people were starting to lose sight of God’s powerful blessing. They were getting all mucked up in legalistic righteousness and, unfortunately, were letting some of the fundamentals of honoring God go by the wayside. That sounds a lot like many Christians today. That’s why we need to stir ourselves up regarding our blessing and the goodness of God. God’s desire for us is still the same as it was in the days of Malachi. He wants us to know and walk in His powerful blessing of prosperity. He is still saying, “Test me in this.” Why would God want us to test Him in this matter? He wants us to scrutinize Him and prove His character, as well as the integrity of His blessing over us.

God wants us to experience His blessing so much that He literally asks us to try Him. Through His Word, He has bound Himself by saying, “You’re not getting it. I want you to be rich. I want you to be wealthy. I’ve empowered you to prosper so you can gather wealth. You’ve been blessed so that you can be a blessing. I want you to have more than enough so you can be an avenue of my goodness to the world. Let’s reason together about this. You cannot give what you do not have. Therefore, I’m not withholding any good thing from you. Come on, don’t you get it? Test me, try me, put me under the microscope regarding this. Here’s how to do it: show your confidence in me by giving to me ten percent of what comes to you. That will give me the legal right to open up my storehouses in heaven. I can then pour out so much stuff, money, gold, silver, provision and even wisdom that the world will know you’ve been touched by my goodness.”

What are you waiting for? God’s not a man that He would just talk to be talking. He means what He says. This word of provocation is for you. Are you tired of only hearing about the blessing of God? If you are, then step into it by faith. Stir yourself up about what He’s promised. At His invitation, test Him in this. Make your life a proving ground for God’s goodness. Give your tithes and offerings to the Lord and do it with confidence and expectation. He’ll not only make you a testimony to those around you, but He’ll also literally make you rich in the process. Test Him in this!

Scriptural Context

Malachi 3:6-17

Concept Reinforcement

Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.

—Proverbs 3:9-10

The blessing of the LORD brings wealth, and he adds no trouble to it.

—Proverbs 10:22

And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show (DISPLAY) the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

—Ephesians 2:6-7

And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

—Philippians 4:19