Whose House Are You Building?
What person in your life encourages you, someone who speaks the words of God over your life? I pray that each person reading this can name someone. I love people like that, people who walk so closely with God that they can speak encouragement, Scripture, blessing, and even gentle warning into my life. These are the qualities I see in the prophet Haggai.
Haggai 1:3-6 (NIV)
Then the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai: “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?”
Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.”
During Haggai’s time, the Israelites had returned to Jerusalem and were working to rebuild both their homes and the temple of the Lord. But God sent Haggai to deliver an important message, as mentioned in the scripture above. The people had become distracted, focused more on their own homes than on rebuilding the temple. I can see myself in the Israelites. Can you? How many times do we fill our lives with things that don’t satisfy, only to end up feeling empty or longing for more? We pour our energy into pursuits that yield little fruit. But God calls us to refocus, to invest our time and energy wisely, and to use it for His purposes. We must give careful thought to our ways and be intentional with our actions.
God has a plan and a purpose for each of us to help build His Kingdom.
In chapter 2, Haggai brings a message from the Lord that stirred the hearts of the people, and it should stir ours as well:
“Be strong, all you people of the land,’ declares the Lord, ‘and work. For I am with you,’ declares the Lord Almighty. ‘This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.”
We can be strong and do the work God calls us to because He is with us. We do not need to fear, because the Holy Spirit remains among us. God provides everything we need to carry out His calling. The most important truth is this: God wants our hearts, not just our hands. He can accomplish His work without us, but in His love, He invites us to be part of His greater plan. What He desires most is a daily, everlasting relationship with us.
Application:
Today, whose house are you building? Do your actions show that you're building for your own comfort or success, or are you investing in the Kingdom of God? Our choices matter, because our obedience is part of how God works in the world. Today, let’s choose to humble our hearts and take action.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, Thank You for being near to us. Thank You for placing people in our lives who encourage us, refocus our attention, and motivate us to action. We are grateful that You take what we do in obedience and make it more than we could ever accomplish on our own. Lord, please help us to give careful thought to our actions. Thank You for Your many blessings. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Haggai 1:3-6 (NIV)
Then the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai: “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?”
Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.”
During Haggai’s time, the Israelites had returned to Jerusalem and were working to rebuild both their homes and the temple of the Lord. But God sent Haggai to deliver an important message, as mentioned in the scripture above. The people had become distracted, focused more on their own homes than on rebuilding the temple. I can see myself in the Israelites. Can you? How many times do we fill our lives with things that don’t satisfy, only to end up feeling empty or longing for more? We pour our energy into pursuits that yield little fruit. But God calls us to refocus, to invest our time and energy wisely, and to use it for His purposes. We must give careful thought to our ways and be intentional with our actions.
God has a plan and a purpose for each of us to help build His Kingdom.
In chapter 2, Haggai brings a message from the Lord that stirred the hearts of the people, and it should stir ours as well:
“Be strong, all you people of the land,’ declares the Lord, ‘and work. For I am with you,’ declares the Lord Almighty. ‘This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.”
We can be strong and do the work God calls us to because He is with us. We do not need to fear, because the Holy Spirit remains among us. God provides everything we need to carry out His calling. The most important truth is this: God wants our hearts, not just our hands. He can accomplish His work without us, but in His love, He invites us to be part of His greater plan. What He desires most is a daily, everlasting relationship with us.
Application:
Today, whose house are you building? Do your actions show that you're building for your own comfort or success, or are you investing in the Kingdom of God? Our choices matter, because our obedience is part of how God works in the world. Today, let’s choose to humble our hearts and take action.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, Thank You for being near to us. Thank You for placing people in our lives who encourage us, refocus our attention, and motivate us to action. We are grateful that You take what we do in obedience and make it more than we could ever accomplish on our own. Lord, please help us to give careful thought to our actions. Thank You for Your many blessings. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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