Let's Not Wait Around

The prophet Haggai was confronting a group of dedicated, on-fire believers who had grown cold in their faith. They had returned to the land of Israel after seventy years of captivity in Babylon with a mission to rebuild the decimated temple. They started well, but gave up when the going got tough. Oh, they fully intended to get the project done, someday. They knew it was important. They knew God had called them to do it. But just not yet - the time wasn't right. Other things had become more important. Their own lives took precedent. And these on fire, committed people became complacent. They became part of the staus quo.

Oh, what a warning that should be for us - for you and for me - for any of us who are on fire for the Lord. The constant attacks from Satan can wear us down. They can cool us off. They can thwart our enthusiasm and silence our zeal. We must constantly guard against that or we will end up like them - sitting comfortably in our status quo - while the work of God remains undone. That's what happened to them. That can happen to us.

But this was when Haggai stepped in. God had sent him to shake up these now lazy people and get them back to work finishing the temple. So this is the message of the book of Haggai. It contains four sermons, each given on a separate occasion and each dealing with a different specific sin that can keep us from accomplishing God's will and finishing His work.

Well, the result? The people did get back to work. They resumed work on the temple in 520 B.C. and completed it in 515 B.C. Mission accomplished. And all it took was a little encouragement from the prophet of God who simply asked the people to "consider your ways (Haggai 1:5)." The prophet told them, in my paraphrase, "Stop. Take a look at what you are doing. Is it right? Are you serving God the way you ought to be?" Could it be that in our day, we need to be reminded of the same thing? Should we also "consider our ways?"

All the time, all across this country, I hear peole say in churches, "You know, we've got a good church. Things are going pretty well. We feel like we are right on the verge of something great happening here." But it usually never does. Yet, they keep saying, "We don't know what it is, but we feel that any time now it is just going to break wide open. Everything is in place." And they wait, and wait, and wait for something that never happens.

Do you ever think that maybe God has that same attitude, but in reverse? Maybe God is sitting up in heaven thinking, "Everything is in place. They are right on the verge of something great happening. I'm ready to empower them and to bless their effort. But I wonder when they are going to get at it? Why don't they just do it?"

Aren't you tired of living on the verge? Aren't you tired of waiting for something great to happen sometime in the future while not much is happening in the present? Isn't it time to "consider your ways," and push on to accomplish something great for God? God has called you to a task. Isn't it time we accomplish it?