“And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you. If ye will
not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith
the LORD of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your
blessings…”- Malachi 2:1-2
“And now, O ye priests…” According to Revelation 1:6, God has made us kings and priests,
so this passage refers to every believer, not only to pastors or preachers. “… Now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you.
If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart…” It's one thing to hear, it's another thing to
lay it to heart. You may forget what you hear but you can't forget what you lay
to heart. God is telling us here that thanksgiving is a thing we must lay to
heart; we must impress it upon our hearts.
When you lay something
to heart it means you have made a decision to do it, your circumstances notwithstanding.
Perhaps, the reason you are not consistent in some pursuits of your life is
because you have not decided. The strength to carry out any duty or assignment
is decision based.
God said, “…If ye will
not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the LORD of hosts, I
will even send a curse upon you…” When you don't glorify God what looks like glory around you
turns into shame. The absence of thanksgiving attracts curses. So, thanksgiving
sustains blessings, it protects and shields your blessing from corruption.
We don't only thank
God for what He has done we are also thank Him to retain what He has done. We
thank Him to fulfill Eccl 3:14, “Whatsoever the Lord doeth it shall be forever.” Your blessings will endure only as long as
your thanksgiving remains.
Thanksgiving will
never leave you where it met you. Paul and Silas were in prison but as soon as
they began to sing praises and give thanks to God, their chains gave way (Acts
16:25-26). No matter the pit you are in, when you start thanking God you start
going up. Start thanking God in your low estate; you will soon end up in your
high estate. I see you going up today!
Meditate On These: - Psalm 100:1-4
