“Your words have been harsh against Me,”
Says the Lord,
“Yet you say, ‘What have we spoken against You?’ You
have said, ‘It is useless to serve God;
What profit is it that we have kept His ordinance,
And that we have walked as mourners before the Lord
of hosts? So now we call the proud blessed, For
those who do wickedness are raised up; They
even tempt God and go free.’” (Malachi 3:13-15, NKJV)
For
the past week or so, the Lord has had me to examine the book of Malachi. It was
intriguing to read as I related to the people of God in that time. There was so
much to take from these scriptures so I’ll try to truncate what I received.
God’s
people had returned from the Babylonian exile, the temple was rebuilt, and they
received word from Zechariah about how the Lord would bless them. Although they
were free, the word of the Lord had not manifested yet. I don’t know about
anybody else but it is frustrating to receive an awesome word from the Lord but
the manifestation takes what seems an eternity to happen. In their waiting, in
their serving God, the people turned from God in their hearts. They became
tired of doing the right thing. They no longer gave God their best. They gave
the Lord blemished sacrifices. In other words, instead of giving God their full
tithes & offerings they now began to tip God. The Lord Almighty says, “A
son honors his father, and a slave his master. If I am a father, where is the
honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?” (Malachi 1:6)
When we decide to do the opposite of what God has called us to do, we are now
in rebellion. The respect for God is lost. Have you ever seen a person just
disrespectful towards God? I don’t want to be disrespectful towards God &
neither should you.
On
the contrary, we can do everything right but our hearts can be wrong. They were
still offering sacrifices to the Lord but they were in disobedience and
rebellion. They became unfaithful people. Sometimes we think we’re getting away
with wrongdoing but God is all-knowing. He knows & sees everything we do. He
even hears everything that we say. God says, You have wearied the Lord with your words. “How have
we wearied him?” you ask. By saying, “All who do evil
are good in the eyes of the Lord, and he is
pleased with them” or “Where is the God of justice?” (Malachi 2:17). Sometimes
we can lose sight of what’s important by looking at the wrong things. Looking
at people who don’t serve God, looking at people who serve God halfheartedly
and begin to wonder, “God is this ok with you?” Especially when we see them “prospering”.
As the Psalm of Asaph reminds us, we need not concern ourselves with the
seeming prosperity of the wicked, but God who is just will deliver His people.
Asaph admits in Psalms 73, “Truly God
is good to Israel, To such as are pure in heart.
But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; My steps had nearly slipped. For I was envious of the boastful,
When I saw the prosperity of the wicked.”
It seems as though the wicked get away
with everything but we live day by day waiting on the promises of God. However,
my Bible tells me that He will keep him in perfect peace, Whose
mind is stayed on Him, Because he trusts in Him (Isaiah 26:3). Focus. I think the people stopped
trusting God, which is why they went
astray in the book of Malachi. Even we stop trusting God He is still loving,
faithful, and true to His Word. Malachi 3:6 says, “For I am the Lord, I do not
change; that is why you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed”. Thank God for His
consistent nature.
God
can be trusted. He is faithful. He is God. If He has promised you some things,
they will surely happen. We must learn to trust God & wait. God is not a
man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he
said, and shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?
(Numbers 23:19) Don’t get tired of serving God. I know it gets difficult at
times and you wonder God what in the world is going on here. In His own good time,
He’ll reveal His purposes & promises for you. Don’t backslide because
you’re tired of waiting on God. Don’t start hanging with your old crew again
because they are familiar. Move forward & obey God.
We
must have faith in God to finish the race that is set before us. God is a
faithful God. If we have His Spirit in us, we need to be faithful people in
return. When you meet your Heavenly Father on that Day, may
the Lord say to you, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have
been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter
into the joy of your Lord.’
Be Blessed.
