Obedience

1 "I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come," says the Lord Almighty. Malachi 3:1 NIV

I want to start this post with an apology - to my readers, but mostly to God, asking for His forgiveness. You see, I don't write this blog for me or for my readers. I do it in obedience with what God impressed upon me to do to spend time with him. He meets us where we are... thank goodness...and he met me where I was - a very busy lady with a lot on my plate but who loves to write. And what better way to spend time with God than exploring what his word says about everyday life in my own words. And what better way to share them with others who may want the same thing - God's word applied to everyday life. But that life can get in the way; actually, I let that life get in the way and I have neglected my blog. I still ready my daily verse but I didn't dwell on it as much as I was. And what happened? Doubt crept in. Fear. Uneasiness.

But that's not much different than what the Israelites experienced, a lot it seems, and what gave the prophets like Malachi, Haggai and others lots to write about. They would lose their way occasionally, lose sight of the promises God had made because those promises weren't always immediate. They would become disobedient, thinking that God would still deliver because they were his chosen people after all, so why should they do what he said? He'll forgive them, slaughter their enemies and they'd be on their way. Not quite that easy, because in the meantime, their disobedience would cause pain, sorrow, doubt, anger, fear, fighting, you name it. Yes God would forgive them, yes he would deliver on his promises, but not without consequences in the meantime.

I was reminded this past week that God is faithful. All he asks is that we believe and have faith. Many times in the Old Testament you'll see where the Israelites begin to be disobedient, God would withdraw his protection. He promised a savior - if they would believe. He promised deliverance - if they would obey. He promised prosperity - if they would have faith. God wants to work miracles, and I know he still does today. Some are big, but most are small miracles that happen every day, most going unrealized by us. If God has given us a command, we must obey. We must have faith that he will fulfill the promise he's given to us. I still believe he will. I will do my best to obey (we're not perfect).

And when we have faith, the Lord will come to his temple - you. He will live in you and work through you. And that's what we as Christians should strive for.