Haggai 1:1-10 "In the second year of Darious the King, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the WORD of the LORD to Haggai the prophet unto Zerubabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that the LORD's house should be built. Then came the WORD of the LORD by Haggai the prophet, saying, Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in you cieled [finished] houses, and this house [tabernacle] lie waste ? Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.
Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes. Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways. Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the LORD. Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why ? saith the LORD of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house. Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit."
It is easy to become so occupied with "things" that we forget to consider our "ways" (v.5 pictured above). When this happens, we may not experience a decrease in our physical activity (because we are so busy satisfying the flesh), but we will certainly see a great decline in our productivity for the LORD. Seeking only after our material well-being causes us to place GOD at the bottom of our priorities and, thereby, become spiritually lethargic. Two things happen to those who fail to evaluate their choices in the light of GOD's will and WORD: First, they lose the help that the LORD gladly would have given them (v.8); and Second, they make it necessary for GOD to chasten them by "blowing" upon their feeble efforts (vv.9-10). They suffer double the loss as a result.
"Consider you ways" (v.7 pictured above) - does this command from the LORD to HIS people in the Old Testament apply to us today ? Indeed, it does ! Various new, attractive, and innovative strategies for doing GOD's work besiege the believer on every hand. Millions of dollars and thousands of work hours give many of these programs an appearance of immediate success. Impressive statistics, some of which are fabricated, provide further enticement for the church to become occupied with "things" about which one can boast rather than "ways" that the LORD can and will bless. Let us not forget that the weapons the LORD provides for HIS children to use "are not carnal, but mighty through GOD" (2nd.Corinthians 10:4). We are not dependent upon the assistance and the approbation of institutions or men. If we consider our ways and make sure that they conform to GOD's way, only then can we have the guarantee of our heavenly FATHER's approval and blessing. MHR
Your servant in CHRIST,
Julie
Copyright, FEATURE: A Daily Bible Study Guide.
Used with permission. www. featoday.org
https://www.fivestarchristianministries.com/salvation
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