Good morning. When Jesus was being tempted in the wilderness by Satan, as we read in Matthew Chapter 4, one of those temptations appealed to Jesus’ pride, that He could command it and the angels would come to His rescue. Jesus responded, “It is also written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” Matthew 4:7
Jesus was, at that moment, quoting Deuteronomy 6:16. Indeed, putting God to the test seems like a poor idea. God is worthy of all of our trust and testing Him, or asking Him to prove His love, is not necessary, right?
That is very true, but there is one area of our life in which God commands us to put Him to the test. We read of it in Malachi 3:8-12. This passage begins with God speaking to His people: “Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me.
“But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’
“In tithes and offerings.You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me. 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. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the Lord Almighty. “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the Lord Almighty.
God tells the Israelites, and I believe He tells us as well, that He is willing to be tried and tested in this matter. Why? Because He knows how hard it is for us to fully trust that He will care for us and bless us as He has promised.
This is especially true when the economy is difficult, and times are challenging. Turning away from faithfulness to the Lord is a tempting corner to cut.
But God challenges us. God says try Me, test Me, see that I am worthy of your trust. God promises to bless us when we trust Him no matter what.
Something to think about.
Vern