When God Says “Return to Me”: What the Bible Teaches About Drifting, Giving, and God’s Faithfulness
Have you ever felt distant from God and wondered why? Have you questioned whether your finances and your faith are connected? Malachi chapter 3 speaks directly to both of those questions, and the answers might surprise you.
What Does It Mean When God Feels Far Away?
There is a famous painting by German artist Adolf Menzel titled “Frederick the Great and His Marshals before the Battle of Luthien.” It depicts a king meeting with his generals before the most important battle of his reign. There is just one problem: the king is not in the painting. Menzel started from the outside in, got lost in the details, and by the time he reached the center, there was no room left for Frederick.
That image is a striking picture of what can happen in our spiritual lives. We make plans, we strategize, we even try to do good things for God, but somehow God gets cropped out of the picture. He is no longer at the center.
That is exactly what was happening in the book of Malachi.
The Two Great Truths in Malachi 3
Malachi 3:6-11 contains two foundational truths that shape everything else in this passage. The first tells us who God is. The second tells us how God works. Understanding both changes the way we live.
Truth #1: God Does Not Change
“I am the Lord, I do not change. Therefore you sons of Jacob have not come to an end.” – Malachi 3:6
This is one of the most important statements in all of Scripture. Theologians call it God’s immutability, which simply means God does not change. He does not adapt, evolve, or grow. He has never had an “aha moment.” As one old preacher put it: has it ever occurred to you that nothing has ever occurred to God?
The writer of Hebrews echoes this truth about Jesus: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” – Hebrews 13:8
God’s unchanging nature is actually the reason Israel still existed. He says it plainly: because He does not change, they were not consumed. His “I” determines their “you.” Their very survival was rooted in His faithfulness, not their own.
So if you feel distant from God today, consider this: God has not moved. He is still right where He was when you left.
Truth #2: We Are the Ones Who Change
While God remains constant, people do not. God says plainly in verse 7: “From the days of your fathers you have turned away from my statutes and have not kept them.”
Israel had returned to the land God promised them. They came back to His blessings and His favor. But they had not returned to God Himself. They were going through the motions of worship without truly practicing it. They were consistently inconsistent, and God was calling them out on it.
Think about the image of an elderly couple in a pickup truck. The wife notices a young couple in a newer car sitting close together, arm in arm, clearly in love. She turns to her husband and says, “Do you remember when we were like that?” He replies simply, “I haven’t moved.”
That is God’s word to His people. And it may be His word to you.
What Does “Return to God” Actually Mean?
God’s instruction is direct: “Return to me and I will return to you.” – Malachi 3:7
James echoes this in the New Testament: “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” – James 4:8
The antidote to distance from God is a return. Stop the direction you are going, turn around, and come back. You can return because God has not changed. He is still holy, still faithful, still good, still gracious. Your failures do not cause God to become something He is not.
But instead of returning, Israel responded with a question: “How shall we return?” God answered their question with one of the most provocative questions in all of Scripture.
Can a Person Actually Rob God?
“Will anyone rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In tithes and offerings.” – Malachi 3:8
God exposes a specific area where His people had drifted: their finances. He uses the word “rob” four times in just a few verses. They were withholding what belonged to Him, and He called it theft.
Now here is the important context. This passage is not primarily about money. The subject of God’s accusation is that Israel had strayed from Him. God is using their giving as an illustration of a deeper problem: a lack of trust.
What Is the Difference Between a Tithe and an Offering?
A tithe means one tenth. It is the biblical standard, the minimum, the first portion of what we receive that belongs to God. An offering is anything given beyond that. It is voluntary and reflects a heart of generosity.
- Tithe: Our duty, the required first portion
- Offering: Our privilege, the voluntary gift beyond the minimum
God says Israel had robbed Him in both. They were not even bringing the full tithe, let alone offerings beyond it.
Is Tithing Still Relevant Today?
Some argue that tithing was part of the Old Testament law and does not apply under grace. But consider two things. First, the very first tither was Abraham, in Genesis 14, long before the law was given. Second, Jesus Himself addressed tithing in Matthew 23:23:
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.” – Matthew 23:23
Jesus affirmed the tithe while also calling for justice, mercy, and faithfulness. The principle has never gone away.
And consider this: everything you have is already a gift from God. “Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” – James 1:17
You are not doing God a favor when you give back what already belongs to Him. You are returning it.
What Happens When You Trust God With Your Finances?
“Bring the whole tithe to the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house, and put me to the test in this, says the Lord of armies, if I do not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.” – Malachi 3:10
God does something remarkable here. He gives His people permission to test Him. Normally, testing God is forbidden. But in this specific area, God issues a direct challenge: try Me. See if I will not be faithful.
What Does “Windows of Heaven” Mean?
To understand what God means by “windows of heaven,” you have to go back to Genesis 7:11: “The fountains of the great deep burst open, and the windows of heaven were opened, and the rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights.”
The flood that covered the earth did not come from rain alone. It came because God opened the windows of heaven. The same Hebrew phrase appears in Malachi 3. God is drawing a direct connection. The last time He opened those windows, the earth flooded. Now He is saying: I have more than you can handle. Test Me, and I will open those windows again, not with judgment, but with blessing.
God does not stop blessing until you stop trusting.
Does Giving Make You Rich?
This is where careful reading matters. God is not promising wealth in exchange for a tithe. That is a careless misreading of Scripture. What God is promising is this: if you trust Him enough to give, He will bless you, protect you, and provide for you in ways you cannot manufacture on your own.
He also promises to “rebuke the devourer,” to protect what you have from being stripped away. And He says the nations around you will see it and call you blessed. You will not have to announce it. It will be visible.
Tithing is both a thermometer and a thermostat for your faith. It measures where you are, and it also shapes where you are going.
Life Application
This week, take God’s giving challenge seriously. For the next 30, 60, or 90 days, commit to giving a full tithe and watch what God does. Not to get rich, but as an act of worship and trust. Let your giving be a declaration that God is at the center of your life, not cropped out of the picture.
Ask yourself these questions as you reflect on this message:
- If someone looked at the picture of my life right now, would God be at the center or missing from it entirely?
- In what areas have I drifted from God, and what would it look like to genuinely return to Him this week?
- Do my finances reflect trust in God, or do they reveal that I am holding back from Him?
- Am I willing to take God up on His challenge and test Him in the area of giving?
God has not moved. His mercies are new every morning. His grace is the same as it has always been. If you have drifted, He is calling you back. Return to Him, and He will return to you.
