Civilized War: Test Me

This is a break from the pressing issues of the day. However, it is a discussion about a major, effective weapon in the Civilized War we face should the Christian choose to apply it.

Seemingly lost in the corrupted, manic world of today is the understanding that according to scripture, God desires to reward us for our faithfulness. So much focus is spent on the bad stuff we experience and hear about that we forget blessings and learning to be happy (joyful works better for some). What He has stated does not change with the whims of the latest craze, perversion or government edict. His words are timeless, within them we find promises just waiting for faithful believers to take action and claim.

Some of the promises relate to very real intangibles such as love, hope, joy, personal peace and blessedness (happiness). Many others translate into real acts of protection such as from lies, violence, dangers, diseases, and natural disasters. Along our journeys through life we experience many of the benefits from God’s promises as well as the results of our personal failures for going our own ways outside of His perfect will.

This story is about a positive season in my life when I chose to do exactly what Malachi wrote to the people of Israel in Chapter 3 verse 10. I pray I continue to do so until I enter Heaven despite my sinful actions at times. It goes like this…

“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and put Me to the test now in this,” says the Lord of armies, “if I do not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.” (NKJV)

The entire passage in Chapter 3 from the prophet Malachi is a well known admonition to the Hebrews of how corrupted they had become, which led to their bondage and despair through the centuries. In Verse 8 prior to the verse above there is a question from God to the people, “Will a man rob God?” Then He answers the question with, “Yet you have robbed me.”

However, even with the negative tone there is still a message of hope for the faithful servants of God.

In fact Chapter 3 could have been written to us in America as well as all Christendom. Many theologians believe the prophecy informs believers of the first and second coming of God in the person of Jesus Christ, as well as of the messenger, John the Baptist. I invite all readers to consider the incredible information in this chapter of the book of an oft ignored minor prophet that was written about 2500 years ago. There is much to unpack that is of great value.

Promises

As I applied the personal testing of His promises my stagnant spiritual life began exploding with growth beginning in the mid-1990’s. After a period of spiritual readjustment that translated into thoughts and actions, He honored my willingness to face life altering situations head on. During the trials I made the conscious decision to learn everything I could from and about the Lord and His ways as He chose to reveal them. As more was revealed I tried to apply all of it to how I lived my life to the best of my ability. Wifey and daughter jumped in the boat with me and the whirlwind that ensued shocked me to the core and amazed them as well. It was as if the Lord had been watching and waiting for me to finally fully surrender it all to Him so that He could prove just how much He loved me and others.

Which leads to this very important observation that should not be ignored by readers.

There is a conscious choice we all must make at some point in our lives. The proverbial fork in the road must be addressed. Even our refusal to make the decision is itself a choice. You cannot stand there at the fork forever. Choose to wander down the wrong path and you will eventually need to retrace your steps back to the fork to start down a different one. Failure to do so while continuing on the wrong path will lead to your destruction.

Our existence is not only about whether one has belief in the God of Israel and His Son. The harder decision to make is to answer the question of whether one will purposefully live exactly how He prescribes or not after having said “yes”. The implications of doing so are not always fun and free from trouble in this world. It is easy to conveniently opt out if things get hard or to pretend we do not know what it all entails. Backsliding may be appealing for a time, until it isn’t. If and when that happens the sincerity of the “yes” is called into question.

As a result we need to be completely satisfied with the choice we make as well as what results from it since we are the decision makers over our actions and are accountable to Him after having said “yes”.

Many of us go about our lives as if fate and circumstance determine the results. A routine develops and we judge our days as good or bad depending upon what we accomplished, how much money we made, how much fun we had, or even how much we slept the previous night. Life can become, well, boring and devoid of substance.

In contrast, what if we willingly choose to fully believe and act on the words as recorded in the Bible of the God of Abram, Moses, David as well as from the mouth of Jesus? This is the same I AM who has been there since the beginning and came to earth as the Son of Man, both human and God, who not only created us, but understands our existence and desires our company.

He is the One who simply asked Israel and as a result all of us who believe in Him, to test Him to receive an overwhelming blessing as stated in Malachi. The statement requires us to take action first to receive the blessing. Bring the whole tithe to the storehouse. God says you do this first as an act of belief and obedience, I will then respond with a blessing that will blow your minds.

This promise is not to be associated with the “prosperity gospel” sold by self serving televangelists and such. This is a promise from the God of the universe to bless those who have faith and follow His desires and commands despite the circumstances of their existence. We are to make the first move and bring our whole tithe in accordance with the New Covenant. That means to cheerfully bring a tithe to His church of the money and gifts that God has already provided to us, which is the storehouse of Malachi’s statement. As believers, we get to decide with Him how much and what that is. These are transactions of sorts between us and Him, nobody else has a right to determine. When we agree the Lord will place how much or what upon our hearts.

My caution is to not go legal in that determination, do not be a Pharisee. Go relational with the Lord and be happy (or joyful) you have the opportunity. Be discerning about who you choose as the recipient(s). In many cases that will mean giving to a deserving church, mission or ministry of which you are involved. Then cheerfully commit and never look back.

A half dozen years after my spiritual reignition, I made that choice. I knew from my studies that many of His promises made throughout history applied to all of His children no matter the time or place. I just applied the New Covenant to my decision making. Over time I began the process of testing Him using that method. Clearly, that is not something we should ever do with wrong intentions. However, I honestly had zero expectations or worldly desires in responding to His promise. Quite frankly I was curious as to how He would bless me, the church or those I care about. He had already blessed me beyond any expectations or hopes I ever had.

Since I sought to be obedient daily despite being a complete dufus at times, my primary question about it all centered around what did it mean to open the windows of heaven and pour out an overflowing blessing?

Back At Work

This period of personal introspection and decisioning was in 2000 and early 2001. In my career our small business banking unit was expanding and doing well at a similar pace with the overall economy. The “hanging chad” period was over and W had taken control. Our work environment was flexible and afforded opportunities to witness and talk about any faith background openly. As the eastern U. S. region manager I encouraged it no matter one’s beliefs as long as we remained respectful of one another. We made an effort to get to know one another better personally and learn from each other instead of being antagonistic or forcing our views on others. The latter attempts always seemed to produce the worst results. Our code was to do right by the customers and each other, to always have each others’ backs and help. Then go home and do the same for our families and communities.

This made casual discussions with co-workers interesting at times with all of the different backgrounds. They nearly always are when we treat each other with respect. It was in this type of environment a Christian coworker approached me about a book his pastor had discussed during a recent sermon. He suggested I read it and give him my thoughts.

I purchased it later that week and sat down on a Saturday afternoon and started reading. I could not put it down and finished it that same afternoon. My first thoughts afterwards were, “OK, Lord, you challenged me with Malachi and now this. I get it, I will do it.” He obviously had more planned for me to know and do. It was early 2001.

The Prayer of Jabez

Who knew that two scripture verses in what can be one of the more boring books of the Bible, I Chronicles, could be a key that opened a door to huge blessings from God? Not me, until I read this book. The verses are found in 4:9-10. They state,

“Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, “Because I bore him in pain.” And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, “Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” So God granted him what he requested.” (NKJV)

Forty four names of begetting descendants go by in Chapter 4 before the above is stated. I had never noticed it or caught the significance in my times of reading The Word. The story of Jabez and his significance had never been brought up in formal Bible or small group studies. I had no idea I should focus on this and its significance for me personally until I read that little book that afternoon. A Hebrew would know to “think Hebrew” about the promise of land being of extreme value from a covenant between God and Abram, and as a result to Jabez. They would know that would tie into the request of Jabez to be blessed and to have his territory enlarged. They would know that the meaning of a child’s name many times foretold the future of the child and definitely reflected conditions on the ground and in the minds of the parents at the time of the birth. The faithful Hebrew would know and believe in the promises of Yahweh. We learn from the text that Jabez did and acted first in the carrying out of his faith, while at the same time overcoming the negativity of his name and the less honorable actions of his brothers. He chose to not be bound by his circumstances. He chose to approach the throne of Yahweh directly. I do not see anywhere that he asked the religious leaders for permission to do so or for them to approve and do it on his behalf. Which brings to mind…

Some loose ends came together in my mind and heart as it all made even more sense. The Lord had brought me to this point, forgave and redeemed me for His purposes. It was not selfish to ask for more if I was going to do it His way. It would actually bring more glory to Him. As an example, just as Jabez overcame the actions of his brothers and pain he caused in his birth, I had to overcome dishonorable actions of my parents as well as my own life to act in faith to receive the good of His promises. I had to choose to not be bound by my circumstances and sins to approach His throne of grace boldly. I needed no person’s permission to do so.

At this point I am not going to go further and give a book report. Some of you may have read it and others probably have not. I am only going to discuss what happened when I read, understood and implemented it into my daily living. If you have not read and applied it, hopefully my experiences will help encourage you to do so or something similar as is placed on your hearts.

I did nothing astounding or magnificent. I simply believed with my whole heart and mind, then acted on it. I employ the “God said it, I believe it.” approach to my Bible study and the resulting applications. So, I began each day reciting from memory the actual Prayer of Jabez. I reread the book, studying the primary points more carefully. Nobody else knew I was doing this except wifey and the Lord. My daily routine was to pray every morning first, read my morning devotional with breakfast, and then go on about the day. I always did my Bible and related studies later in the evening when all was quiet. That way the content would be on my mind as I went to sleep.

I now know that The Prayer of Jabez moves the faithful into a different sphere with the Lord. It says something to the effect of, “I believe in you, Lord, and trust whatever happens from here. I ask for a big blessing and for you to determine the details. I will respond accordingly and I ask that you keep me from evil as I do not want to cause pain or harm to You, others or myself.”

I prayed this prayer nearly every single day for about seven years and left it all in God’s hands. I had been warned by a couple of trusted friends that at times I might feel overwhelmed by the extent of my blessings. They were not kidding as I discovered.

As the blessings and seeming miracles began to stack up and become more plentiful I was filled with “why me” type thoughts. It can be very intimidating and you may feel unworthy. I actually learned more about my human limits and that God has none. Instead of puffing up with pride from the blessings, I was truly and deeply humbled as I realized all I was doing was hanging on with my fingernails to try to keep up. It was also one of the most satisfying and fulfilling experiences of my life to just know that God cared about me down to the smallest details, a nobody among billions of people on the planet. I also realized the blessings were not exclusionary to just me, I am not that special, that there were many other believers following the trail Jabez blazed that were receiving their versions of the Lord’s enlarging of their territory as well.

When this blessing kicks in you understand the ‘keep me from evil’ part. You can be sure Satan and his demons will attack. He will probe your weaknesses and attempt to get you to believe you are making it happen. He will use others in attempts to bring you down or detour you away from God’s promises. You must learn to use discernment and wisdom to avoid the pitfalls.

Remember how Jabez is singled out and emphasized out of all the names that are given? Just one of many, nobody special. Just one guy who was born in painful circumstances with less honorable siblings, yet, who had faith in Yahweh, asked for more, and wanted to avoid evil and causing pain. A man who I suspect Yahweh chose to exceedingly bless because He knew Jabez was sincere and would serve as an example for all around him. This simple act of faith through prayer was a major event such that he is singled out with praise in the Word of God for all of eternity. Wow, just wow.

Some may doubt these statements of mine. I understand. I don’t expect anybody who has not entered into a loving personal relationship with Christ or a practicing orthodox Jew to comprehend it. There was a time I would doubt my words as well. The world has a way of keeping us blindfolded to the blessings that are available for all who believe. I think many believers are simply afraid they are unworthy, they are too sinful, or that their lives will be uprooted. Some only know about Jesus and see their involvement as a religion they follow to gain entrance to Heaven. Yet, I cannot help to wonder why a follower of Christ would choose fear, isolation or compartmentalizing over being in a personal relationship with Him. After all, He loves us as we are. Romans 8:28-30 says it very well in my opinion.

“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.” (NKJV)

If you are a Christian in belief, you do not have to choose just one option or the other that God predetermines who all believers are and will be, or, that God gives free choice to all to believe or not. Both can be true and are per scripture. It is also true that our free will can choose to reject and restrain what God has predestined of those “He foreknew”. Study King Saul’s life for reference. He exercised the choice of rebelling against God’s will after having been chosen to lead the Hebrew people, a position he readily accepted from God. Saul was chosen in response to the Hebrews demands to be led like the other nations around them. He was chosen by God for the task of being King and fulfilling God’s edicts for the emerging nation of Israel. Of course God also foreknew that Saul would do the stupid stuff he did and had David on standby to take over. Knowing these things to be true per scripture, in my opinion it matters not your belief in one or the other options; just that you remain obedient to His will for your life as a demonstration of your love because “we know that all things work together for good to those who love God.” If you are of the elect or predestined, be faithful and do His will. If you are in the free will camp, be faithful and do His will. That includes following a path He provides you that glorifies Him that might, just might, bring you blessings beyond your wildest imagination.

My Seven Year Results

The more descriptive answers are in my BIMD stories of the period. I will not belabor, just highpoint some of them.

1. My marriage to wifey was solidified to elite status 🤣 and I become a much more involved father. This was a big deal for the three of us and something I desperately wanted.
2. My spiritual life did likewise within our local church congregation and its respective UMC conference. Imagine being a missionary in your own home town and to a mainline denomination who had no idea what your real, God assigned purpose was.
3. My career took off like a jackrabbit leading to becoming the CEO of a top 15 national small business finance unit in our industry. All of it was accomplished within a 5 year period starting from ground zero.
4. My community service participation increased significantly to help others with housing needs and repairs, hurricane relief projects, local food bank, health concerns of residents in the community, schools, etc.
5. My personal contacts within the industry, government and politicians increased in attempts to influence them to be more in tune with meeting the needs of the citizens and small businesses. This led to lasting improvements in the business loan programs we utilized.
6. I was able to find more quality time to spend with my father, father-in-law, mother-in-law and a close friend in their last days that meant more to me than they will know until I am with them again in Heaven. I witnessed their gut wrenching physical suffering so severe that it changed me forever, yet, was blessed to observe that they did not waver in their faith in Jesus. As a result I have become a more understanding, merciful and responsive man than I ever thought I could be.
7. I became more aware of what God intended for me, a journey that will continue forever.

All of it occurred over seven years. I get exhausted even thinking about it now. God seemed to increase the number of hours in every day while keeping me healthy, even though I did not do a great job with my personal nutrition and exercise. However, after the seven year period, that chapter closed because God closed it. His overflowing blessings continued, however, my assigned mission changed. My heart and mind had been genetically modified if you will. What I thought I wanted or was called to do in life was only for that season. It was time to move on to His next assignment and enlarge my territory.

The words repeated in the prayer Jabez spoke are not some sort of abracadabra magic. They are a sincere request made to God that can be stated in different ways or even only once if the heart and mind are aligned with God and His purposes. He hears us the first time we say what is on our hearts. He knows what we are going to say before we say it. It does not even have to be said out loud. It is simply a test of faith to actually apply it or not. I made the decision to do it daily for seven years because I needed to rewire my brain sufficiently to make it a part of me forever. I will speak more to this in the next story.

Conclusion

An important key to understanding The Prayer of Jabez is that it is not a guarantee of financial success, fame or power. It is simply a fulfillment of God’s promises to bless your life to its fullest based upon your willingness to take the step to love, honor and trust Him completely. When you do that you have a clear path to ask and receive what God has in mind for you. As I learned, the expression and fulfillment of His blessing may be very different from what you expect. Whatever He provides is wonderful because it comes from I AM. It is an affirmation of your relationship with the Lord, the King of all Kings.

Just like the passage in Malachi, the Prayer of Jabez challenges us. It is a test of our faith. In essence the Lord asks His children to test Him and in return His request tests the faith of those same children.

When you do what He instructs you to do, even when you test Him, you are doing your part to destroy the works of the devil. You are letting your light shine before men that they might know the reality of God as found in the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:14-16.

“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (NKJV)

Now take this promise from Malachi a major step forward using the response Jabez received after his sincere request of God. I wonder what God’s response would be to a large segment of the population of America, say the MAGA movement, if they chose to be His servants en masse, test God, and then do as Jabez did? How would our nation be changed from the sorry state it is today?

I could not have been happier when my assignment and territory changed because the next seven years brought something I consider to be even bigger and far more important.

Maranatha! May your 2024 be filled with blessings and peace from His promises.