Malachi 3: 13-18 The Message“God says, “You have spoken hard, rude words to me. You ask, ‘When did we ever do that?’When you said, ‘It doesn’t pay to serve God. What do we ever get out of it? When we did what he said and went around with long faces, serious about God-of-the-Angel-Armies, what difference did it make? Those who take life into their own hands are the lucky ones. They break all the rules and get ahead anyway. They push God to the limit and get by with it.’”
Then those whose lives honored God got together and talked it over. God saw what they were doing and listened in. A book was opened in God’s presence and minutes were taken of the meeting, with the names of the God-fearers written down, all the names of those who honored God’s name.
God-of-the-Angel-Armies said, “They’re mine, all mine. They’ll get special treatment when I go into action. I treat them with the same consideration and kindness that parents give the child who honors them. Once more you’ll see the difference it makes between being a person who does the right thing and one who doesn’t, between serving God and not serving him.”
Recently, while reading through the book of Malachi with She Reads Truth, I was deeply convicted as well as deeply encouraged as I read this passage from chapter three. In this passage we see two groups of people-the God accusers and the God honorers. The God accusers are upset at God for what they see as unfairness. Why isn't life better for the obedient than for the disobedient? Why do the disobedient get away with the way they live? I get it. I want to see the wicked punished and the righteous blessed. I get upset when those who love and serve God suffer and I get upset when I don't see God's justice against wrongdoers. Until I'm the one who does wrong-then I want God to be merciful and long-suffering! (Join me for the rest of this post on Sunday, September 15th at Woman to Woman Ministries, where each Sunday I share a bit of Sunday Soul Food!)
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