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“Be strong…For I am with you….” (devo reflection)

Haggai 2:4 But now be strong, Zerubbabel,’ declares the Lord. ‘Be strong, Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land,’ declares the Lord, ‘and work. For I am with you,’ declares the Lord Almighty.

Lord, Thank You for speaking to my heart this morning. You know the task before me. You know I feel unequal to it. Thank You for sending me these words of encouragement. Help me to take them to heart, to be strong, to know, to trust that You are with me.

Haggai 2:5 ‘This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.’

Lord, Thank You for the reminder that ultimately, everything I do is for Your glory. Help me to work diligently for the good of others but to never lose sight of the fact that ultimately, everything I do is for You. Help me not to fear my own inadequacies and to concentrate on the task at hand and on bringing You glory.

Haggai 2:9 ‘The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the Lord Almighty. ‘And in this place I will grant peace,’ declares the Lord Almighty.”

Lord, Thank You for the reminder that it is not about me, it’s about You. Thank You for the reminder that I am Your hands and feet. Help me to keep my heart tied to Yours. Give me strength, wisdom, and guidance to help the people You place in my path. Help me to glorify You in all I do. Amen.

Haggai 2:19b …“ ‘From this day on I will bless you.’ ”

Have a blessed day.

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The faithful remnant…. (devo reflection)

Haggai 1:3-4 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?”

I assume that the group in Haggai 1 is the faithful remnant spoken of in Zephaniah 3. These are the ones who were going to be blessed because of their faithfulness, except they seem to be full of excuses about why they are focusing on rebuilding their own houses instead of the house of the Lord.

Haggai 1:5-6 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.”

As usual, my instinct is to lay into this foolish people, to berate them for being idiots. Can’t they see what they are doing? Can’t they see how ridiculous, how futile the path of making excuses to God? As usual, I am stopped in my tracks because I know I am guilty of the same things. Jesus, Help me.

Haggai 1:7-8 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build my house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored,” says the Lord.

Lord, Once again this seems to boil down to pride—the pride of the faithful remnant, which causes them to put themselves first, my own pride which prompts me to jump to judgement. Forgive me. Help me instead to give careful thought to my ways, to get my own priorities straight, to stop trying to judge others and focus instead on You. Draw me closer. Amen.

Haggai 1:9 “You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?” declares the Lord Almighty. “Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house.

Have a blessed day. I love you.