When life is comfortable and stable, regular or routine it's easy to forget our need for God. We say I've got it, no thanks, I'm doing just fine. Our self-reliance doesn't honor God and holds us back from the life God wants for us.

In Malachi's time, those who grew up in the comfort of the temple, the need for God might not have felt as urgent as it did for their parents or grandparents who experienced the pain of exile. Malachi mirrors what many of us experience today, complacency, contentment, and even telling God No.