Haggai brought a needed message to a comfortable people. They had returned to the promised land from a seventy year hiatus. Their initial objective was to rebuild God's Temple, but they had gotten side tracked. They had begun to invest in their own businesses, homes and families. They had completely forgotten about God's Temple.
So, along comes Haggai, the prophet, to remind them of their lapse in memory. He asked an initial question, Haggai 1:4 "Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?"
The message continued with a reminder that, all that the people held so dear, had come because of God's blessings. And that the recent dearth had also come from God to spark them to action. This indeed, was an act of mercy.
God, through the prophet, gives us good advice for our own plans, when he says, "give careful thought to your own ways" (vv 5,7).
So often we think that we are giving much thought to our ways. When, in fact, our thoughts aren't directed towards God's purpose. We make plans with good intentions, but forget to seek God's guidance from the beginning. Later, when things go south, we drop to our knees and beg for God's rescue from our hopeless mess.
We are not sent to rebuild His Temple. We ARE His Temple. This fact is both amazing and puzzling. God dwells in us and we are in Christ, and Christ is in God. Jesus mentioned that fact in John 14:20 when he said, "On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you."
God demands our full attention in every aspect of life because that is what is best for us. He is working his will in and through us. And, even though we cannot stymie his plans, we must remain focused on them. So that we don't suffer grave consequences. Being in Christ has the benefit of knowing our final goal and being able to arrange our daily activities to accomplish His plan.
So, give careful thought to your own ways today.
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