Some of my most vivid memories as a child are of Christmas Eve. The anticipation of what the morning could bring was, at times, overwhelming. All the “worries” a small child from a loving home could have had seemed to vanish into the hope of some treasured item I hoped would be waiting under the tree. The air was thick with expectation.
 
There are moments in scripture like this, too, and Malachi 3:1 is one of them. The people of Israel aren’t just told that help is coming, or that their circumstances would drastically improve, or even that some spiritual “revival” was going to break out. They were promised the Lord Himself would return.
 
A recurring theme throughout this series is that God is actively working and advancing His plan for His creation. Once again we see the very same God who walked with Adam in the garden, who filled the tabernacle with His glory, and who made His presence rest in the tabernacle has declared He will come again to His people … He will come again to dwell with His people.
 
But the promise of His return isn’t all rainbows and roses. Before the Lord comes, a messenger will come to clear the way. A separation is needed. The coming of the Lord is never a casual happening. While we know His nearness to be merciful and full of joy, He will also bring with Him His holiness. He wasn’t coming to give rubber stamp approval to whatever it was He would find. He would come to purify, expose, and restore His people. He is coming as the Covenant Lord, faithful to His full character.
 
Today, as then, we often want the presence of God without any of the refining work it requires to be near HIm. Somehow we think we can enjoy comfort without surrender, nearness without change, and rescue without any form of repentance. Malachi draws all those things together for us. The Lord who is coming is the Lord of Armies! His coming is good news He Himself is good, but He isn’t manageable.
 
 Today, we start off the week by allowing the expectation to build. God is coming to dwell again. He is coming to reclaim all that was lost, to restore all that was broken, and to dwell in peace with His people.
 
Thankfully, the story of Israel doesn’t end with exile, silence, or divine distance. The Lord they seek is coming.

Thanks to the presence of the Holy Spirit, we can enjoy the first fruits of His nearness right now, still longing for Him to be ever closer. Where do you find yourself longing for God to come near? Are there places in your life where you want His comfort but resist His refining work?

Father, teach me to long for your presence with reverence and with hope. Prepare the deepest parts of me to receive You as You are and not as I have made you. I surrender with joy to the necessary refining work only You can do. Amen.