Malachi 3:6-7 (NIV)
6 “I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. 7 Ever since the time of your ancestors you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord Almighty. “But you ask, ‘How are we to return?’
Malachi was written 430 BC. Even then, God had a plan. He always wanted to restore the relationship. God was just waiting for the right time and place. And that time was 463 years later and the place was Jerusalem.
We are reminded that the Lord is always the same. That means He is faithful and keeps His promises. One of those promises was that He would be our God and we would be His people. Even though we cannot uphold our side of the agreement and follow His decrees, God is patient not wanting any to perish. From the very beginning, God knew we could not keep the agreement and had another way to keep us close. His plan was to redeem us through His own sacrifice. We are separated from God when we sin. 1 John 1: 9 says “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” but we do not want to admit our sin. Without that admission, we cannot return. Hence the question “How are we to return?”
Jesus came into the world to bring us back to a right relationship with Him. If we confess our sin and turn away from it, God will take us back. He will remove the sin completely and restore the broken relationship. Our repentance is our return to Him. His redemption could be seen as His return to us. I don’t see it that way though. I believe that God is always with us just as He said “I will never leave nor forsake you.” We have drifted away. God has never wavered!
Do you want to return to God? Do you want to grow into a deeper relationship with God? Now is the time. This is the season. Here comes the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world! Will you let Him take your sin away? Will you return to Him? He longs to take you back!
Thank You Lord that You always had a plan to draw us back to you. Thank You that You never left us. You knew we would stray so you made a way for us to return. Help us this day to return to You! In Your name we pray!