Sometimes when I am very discouraged, when I feel weary, I succumb to the tyranny of the urgent. I do what I have to do, or what’s expected of me, or what I’ve committed to, but I have no mental, emotional, or physical energy for anything else.
And because Jesus is gracious and understanding, I allow Him to be slowly eased to a secondary place in my life. I sleep through my prayer time, I turn down new opportunities for service, I become lethargic about the kingdom of God.
I am in survival mode. Or so I think. Which is why Haggai’s message is for me—and for you too—if from time to time you are so discouraged you tend to lose your passion for the things of God.
Haggai’s Message
In 538 BC, Cyrus, king of Persia, issued a decree that all those who had been taken captive from Judah were free to return (Ezra 1:1-4)—and a small remnant of Israelites did. They were irresistibly drawn to the heart of Jerusalem, which was the glorious temple built by King Solomon. On arrival, they found all that remained of the Babylonians’ devastating rampage seventy years earlier was a pile of rubble.
God sent a message through the prophet Haggai to stir the hearts of the people.
Within two years of their arrival in Jerusalem, the remnant—surrounded by the ruins of their own homes and city—set about to rebuild the temple. They received stiff opposition from some and abject apathy from others, so they quit! For sixteen years, they did nothing about the temple while they tried to get their own homes in order. Then God sent a message through the prophet Haggai to stir the hearts of the people, inspiring them to complete the rebuilding of the temple.
Haggai’s message from God was directed specifically to those who had grown weary of rebuilding the temple when their own homes lay in ruins. In essence, God told His remnant of workers four things that we can apply to our own weary lives today.
Reorder Your Priorities
“Give careful thought to your ways … build my house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored” (Haggai 1:7-8).
The things of God must come first. In the midst of our discouragement and weariness, serving Him will bring us joy.
Refocus Your Perspective
“The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house” (Haggai 2:9).
Don’t compare the way things are now with the way things were. Open your eyes to see things from God’s point of view. He works all things for your ultimate good and His glory. Blessing can come from brokenness, beauty from ashes, and glory follows the cross—when we surrender all to Him.
In the midst of our discouragement and weariness, serving Him will bring us joy.
Redirect Your Purpose
“From this day on I will bless you” (Haggai 2:19).
God is the God of second chances. You can have a new beginning. Stop the frustrating futility of living in your own strength, of operating on your own timetable, of being paralyzed by fears and past failures, of demanding your own way. Let go of what you want. To live for His glory and pleasure alone is to experience His blessing.
Reclaim Your Privilege as God’s Servant
“I have chosen you” (Haggai 2:23).
A chosen person is a choice person. As one who has professed faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, you have been born again into God’s family and have the right to be called His child. He has chosen you for fellowship with Himself (1 Corinthians 1:9), then to live out your faith as you serve Him for His glory (Ephesians 1:11-12).
Our effort to overcome weariness by placing God first will be supremely worth it!
God’s people responded to God’s message. “So the … Jews continued to build and prosper under the preaching of Haggai the prophet … They finished building the temple according to the command of the God of Israel …The temple was completed” (Ezra 6:14-15). Approximately 550 years later, God Himself—in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ—walked and taught within its walls. Their efforts were supremely worth it.
I wonder when we look back on this era of personal and national disasters, which often leaves us feeling discouraged and weary, what will be said of the Church? Of God’s people? Of you and me? I pray it will be said that the “temple”—the body of Christ—revealed God’s glory in our midst. Our effort to overcome weariness by placing God first will be supremely worth it!