Have you ever realized you still make time for God, but almost none of it gets your full attention? You are technically still showing up. Prayer still happens, Scripture still gets opened, but somewhere along the way both started getting whatever was left over after everything else had taken what it needed. None of this happened on purpose. It happened slowly, the way familiarity always happens, and you did not notice until it had already settled in.
That is exactly what God confronts His people about in Malachi.
And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts.
(Malachi 1:8, KJV)
The animals matter here because they reveal the posture underneath the offering. God’s people were bringing Him what they would have been embarrassed to bring to a human governor, the sick, the blind, the lame, the ones they had no other use for. They had continued the outward practice of worship while giving God what cost them least.
Reverence is not a performance God requires for His own sake. It is a posture that keeps us alive to who we are actually speaking to, and it is possible to lose that posture while still doing all the right things on the outside. Because of Christ, you do not earn your way into God’s presence by upgrading what you offer Him. You are already fully received. But being fully received is not the same thing as being invited to stop paying attention.
So today, notice where God has quietly become the recipient of your distracted leftovers instead of your attention. Begin by noticing where familiarity has dulled your reverence, and intentionally turn your attention toward Him again. You do not need a dramatic gesture to fix this. You need to actually be present the next time you show up.
Reflect
Where has God quietly become the recipient of your leftovers rather than your attention?
Prayer
Lord, forgive me for the seasons where I have offered You whatever was left of me and called it worship. You are worthy of more than what is easiest to give. Teach me to give You my attention instead of only whatever remains of it. Restore my reverence, not as a performance, but as a way of actually seeing You again. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Before You Go
Pick one place this week where God has become routine, and give Him your full attention there today instead of your leftovers.