An Invitation to Trust God

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Malachi+1&version=NIV

Here we are, my friends, at the end of the Old Testament - I am so excited to move on to the New Testament and see what God has to say to us through the words of the gospel. I pray that he would increase your faith as you continue this journey.

Because that is my prayer, I'd like to point you to a passage where I believe that God is inviting us to trust him - he is giving us an opportunity to put our weight fully down on his promises and trust him to fulfill them. He does this through an area where I would say many of us struggle the most - trusting God with our finances.

I am unsure what the heart issue was for the Israelites when it came to their money (which likely came in many different forms - grains, supplies, gold, etc). Perhaps it was that they did not trust God to provide enough for them, so they held tightly to what they had. Perhaps they had a greed issue. God knew the heart issue, and clearly part of it was that they did not understand that all they had came from him anyway, and so by holding on to it, they where robbing him of what was his to begin with. Not that God needed their tithes and offerings - but rather he wanted them because they were a sign that Israel was committed to their side of the covenant, that they were committed to Him. And it was a sign that they trusted him.

I believe these words are an invitation from God to trust him with our money. They come with a promise that he will provide more than we need if we do. Why would he do that? Because it is part of his covenant promise to his children. So here is God's invitation to you:

"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 no throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it." - Malachi 3:10

Friends, I do not believe that this invitation to trust is limited just to our finances. I believe that God says in every area of our lives - our relationships, our families, our careers, our everyday needs and beyond - that we can test him, put our weight fully down on him and his loving faithfulness, and see what he will do. I believe that God will shower both abudant spiritual and physical blessings in any area of our life in which we are fully submitted to him and his purpose. Give it a shot - he is SO loving, faithful, and trustworthy.

Today's post was submitted by Carol Bartels