Then the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet, saying, “Is it time for your yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house lies desolate?”  Now therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts, “Consider your ways! You have sown much, but harvest little; you eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied; you drink, but there is not enough to become drunk; you put on clothing, but no one is warm enough; and he who earns, earns wages to put into a purse with holes.”  Haggai 1:3-6 NASB

Have you ever felt as though you are just spinning your wheels? Sometimes it’s like the more you work, the farther behind you get. The more we can afford, the more we want. In our scripture passage today God is calling for construction of His temple. He is speaking through the prophet Haggai and reprimanding the people for living comfortably in their nice homes while His house or His temple lies in ruins. Then He instructs them to consider their ways. I think the problem we have is that we often fail to consider our ways.

Our pastor has been reminding us that when something in the bible is prefaced with “therefore”, we should pay special attention. In this scripture passage it says, “Now, therefore, consider your ways.” Sometimes I think we get so busy that we fail to stop and consider why we are so busy. We fail to see that our way and God’s way may not be lining up. We start out with the best of intentions, but the devil uses our busyness to distract us and cause us to veer off course. When we fail to consider our ways is when we get into trouble.

Proverbs 3:6 tells us that in all our ways we should acknowledge Him and He will make our paths straight. In all that we do, our ways should line up with the LORD. In Chronicles chapter 17, King David had been blessed. He had gone from being David the young shepherd boy who killed Goliath to the son in law of King Saul. He had been stalked and hunted by Saul. Once Saul died, he became king. Not too bad for a shepherd boy. David wanted to honor God by building a temple. Sounds like a good thing to do, right? David states in verse one that he is dwelling in this nice home built from cedar, but God’s ark is living behind curtains. He wants to build a temple. Now on the surface that sounds like a good Christian thing to do. It sounds like a way to honor the Lord, right? David could have just set about doing this, but he consulted the prophet Nathan.  Initially Nathan thought it sounded good as well, but God said, “No.”  God rejected David’s desire to build a temple for him. He told David, through Nathan, that one of his descendants would be allowed to build this temple. Now it was after this that David fell into sin with Bathsheba. After this incident God permitted Satan to prompt David to take a census. David insisted on taking this census against Joab’s advice. David paid a heavy price for his sin. It cost him his son. Just as God’s Son paid the heavy price for our sin.

It is good when we want to work for the Lord, but sometimes we get so busy working for the Lord, we cease doing the Lord’s work. We get busy doing what we think is a “good thing” to do and we fail to stop and acknowledge God’s plans. We start to leave God out of it. David had good plans and wanted to do a good thing by building the temple, but that was not in God’s plans for David.

My grandma used to always tell me that idle hands are the devil’s workplace. I have this busyness about me that was handed down from my mother. We always have to be busy. The problem comes in when our busyness goes against what God tells us to do. If we are not careful, we will walk right into the devil’s trap. Even things that appear to be good things that we are doing “for the Lord” won’t work if they don’t line up with God’s plans.

So, I strongly encourage you today to consider your ways. In everything you do, pray and ask God what it is that He would have you to do. Jeremiah 29:11 tells us that He has good plans for us. The devil is out there trying to thwart those plans. He wants to mess us up. We must guard against this. Proverbs 3:5 tells us to trust in the LORD with all our heart and lean not on our own understanding.

Consider your ways. Are they God’s way? Do they line up with His plans for your life? Trust in Him and follow Him. If you are working hard, but feel as though you are spinning your wheels, stop and ask God what He would have you to do. Maybe you need to be still and acknowledge Him. Maybe you need to stop talking and listen. Make him a part of your planning process. Remember that he knows what our future holds and He not only wants what is best for us, but He can make it happen. He is in control. The only person that can make a mess of God’s plan for you is you. So, trust in Him, turn it all over to Him and allow Him to guide you through this crazy thing called life.

Have a great day!