2023 Advent Devotion: Day 18

Wednesday, December 20

Malachi 3:16-4:6; Mark 9:9-13

I believe that the prophet’s words in Malachi 3 can bring us a lot of comfort at this time of year when we celebrate God’s love for us that was so great and extensive that He sent His son Jesus to be God with us. In Malachi 3:16 we see that “the Lord took notice and listened” to those who feared Him and were speaking to each other. I am not sure what you have going on right now in the circumstances of your life, and I know this world is a broken and rebellious world, but I can take complete comfort and have complete peace and complete joy because I know that no matter what, God is taking notice and listening.

The text then says later in the same passage, talking about those who fear the Lord, that “they will be mine, my own possession on the day I am preparing.” We can take comfort in the fact that we are His and we belong to Him and that He will take care of us now and in the future. Jesus Christ, as our bridegroom, is now preparing a place for us, getting it ready for the wedding feast and the consummation of His Kingdom, and because of that, no matter what is happening around us we can know that we belong to Him; we are in His family; we are His sons and daughters and He takes notice of us, listens to us, sees us, cares for us, and is preparing a place for us. He tells us that He will have compassion on us and so we can trust in Him as we walk through whatever life throws our way.

It is because of Him that we are made righteous, that we are justified, and that one day we will be glorified and saved on the day of the Lord. There is coming a day when the hearts of parents are turned to their children and the hearts of children are turned to their parents. There will be a day when there will be no more sin, no more sickness, no more sadness, no more brokenness, no more death, and a day when we will experience complete restoration of our relationship with God, humanity, and His creation. He sends us His Spirit to help us and guide us and lead us and comfort us in the present and as a guarantee of what is coming for us in the future. He is indeed Emmanuel, God with us, and will be until the very end of the age.

Matt Alley
School of Divinity Graduate