God Motivation and the Middle Step

“Your words have been hard against me, says the LORD. But you say, ‘How have we spoken against you?’ You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God. What is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the LORD of hosts? And now we call the arrogant blessed. Evildoers not only prosper but they put God to the test and they escape.’”
(Malachi 3:13-15)

Though it's a little less conventional than the other exchanges, I nearly forgot about the final question God's people had for Him in the book of Malachi!  The LORD was displeased with their words that testified negatively about His character and ways of operation in the world.  The things that the people were frustrated about are similar in nature to what we may struggle with.  In looking at how events play out around us, in seeing that "doing good" doesn't always yield immediate amazing results and that "doing bad" sometimes seems to advance people, we might wonder about what that says about who God is.  Why doesn't He hand out hugs and spankings in direct accord with the proper and profane?  And if He doesn't do that, what good does it do to be good at all?

What is striking about this exchange is that God does not give a direct answer to those struggling with these things.  After this passage, what we see some of them doing instead is pausing after their wrestling, talking things through with one another, and coming to the conclusion that they needed to take all that God had revealed about Himself during this time of Q&A and run with it in faith.  They had to say, "We don't have every answer to everything we have questions about, but we see how we've been foolish, how God has been wise, and how we must trust Him."  A very interesting thing happened then.  The LORD spoke of these people with great favor and promised that there would come a time where the distinction they sought between the righteous and wicked would be evident once more (3:17-18).  First came the revelation of the character of God, then came the faith of His people, and finally there was a fuller display of God's purposes and ways.  That middle step is the step where God motivation has to show itself--it's where trust in Him must be fleshed out.  It comes by His grace as all good things do, but it's also where the call for self-abandonment rings out, begging for an answer.  Don't trip over the middle step.