Haggai 1: 5, 7
Consider how things are going for you! ... This is what the Lord Almighty says, "Consider how things are going for you!"
Today we would say, "How's that working out for you?" As we live our lives each day, as we make all the little choices in how to think, what to say, how to say it to those in our lives, are we considering how Jesus would respond in our circumstance or just "going with the flow" of our own attitudes and thinking processes?
Are we "taking to heart" all that we have learned of God's ways? How are things going for you?
Haggai tells the people (in verse 6) that they have planted a lot of seed, but very little has grown to be able to harvest; they eat, but never have enough food; they drink but their thirst is never satisfied; they layer their clothes in the cold weather, but they're never warm enough; and when they earn wages, it's like there are holes in their pockets, there's never enough to pay all the bills.
Have you experienced anything like any of this in your life? Have you put forth the supreme effort to get ahead, only to find yourself two steps behind?
If so, then maybe it's time to pay attention to God's ways, and apply them to our own lives. Maybe it's time to really believe that God knows what's best, even when it looks like it could be detrimental to us. God sees the "big picture" of what's really going on in the World and in our own personal lives each day, and if we're not applying what we know, then we can't expect for things to work out well.
When the Doctor must do surgery to remove the cancer, he must first cut into the body and cause trauma to the bodily systems in order to remove what is harming the patient; then the body can heal.
Doctors aren't God, so they may not be able to do everything we need; but God is our Great Physician Who is also our Maker. He knows every detail of our bodies, as well as the thoughts and attitudes of our hearts, and sometimes we need for Him to "cut out" whatever it is that is harming us in order that we can heal and be cleansed. We can trust Him to always do what is best for us.
My dear Father, please teach me how to be supportive, not supplanting. Show me Your Truth in what I am doing before I open my mouth and insert foot! Teach me Your ways, Father, to replace my ways. My ways only divide and drive away, but Your ways are gentle and beautiful, and promote unity and true intimacy.
I need You, Father.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
