You expected much, but then it amounted to little. When you brought the harvest to your house, I ruined it. Why? This is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts. “Because My house lies in ruins, while each of you is busy with his own house.”
Haggai 1:9 HCSB

For years God warned His people, through the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah, to repent and turn from their sinful ways back to Him. They did not heed these warnings and were taken captive by the Babylonians where they spent 70 years in captivity. After that, God graciously allowed them to return home. They had been back in the promised land for 16 years. They had laid the foundation to rebuild God’s temple but had done nothing more. They had been busy rebuilding their own homes. They had been taking care of their business, but neglecting God’s business. They should have been putting God first, but they had been putting themselves first.

When we do this, God sits back and allows us to try to take care of ourselves. This is bad for us because without God we fail miserably. I know from personal experience. Because they had not put God first, God had allowed all their hard work to come to nothing. They had wanted a lot but God had given them little. What they may have thought was just a string of bad luck was actually God trying to tell them that by not putting Him first, they would not be blessed.

I often quote Matthew 6:33 which tells us to first seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you. If we take care of God’s business, He will provide all that we need. God tells them in verse 5 that they planted much but harvested little, they eat but never have enough to be satisfied. This is what it’s like when we don’t put God first. We can go about working and trying to provide, but it’s never enough. We will never be content and we will never be satisfied.

Now in the book of Haggai, they responded to what God was telling them through their prophet Haggai and began rebuilding the temple. They responded by being obedient. When they did this, God assured them of his presence to guide them and give them strength and power as they obeyed His Word.

God had to put them in an uncomfortable place in order for them to listen. We often come to God in times of trouble. When the bottom falls out, we get down on our knees. Sometimes God has to bring us to that point. He has had to do this with me several times.

There have been times in my life when I have failed to heed God’s warnings and plunged forward into disaster. I have put my ideas and my wants and desires first and they have nearly destroyed me. But, I have learned that when I put God first and seek to do His will, He takes good care of me. He protects me and He provides for me.

What about you? Are you putting God first? If you are, then good for you. But if you are not, then you may be getting that gentle nudging like the warnings the Israelites were getting from Isaiah and Jeremiah. I pray that you are smart enough to listen before God has to really bring you down to the ground.

Now I suspect that due to the fact that the Israelites had spent 70 years in captivity, they were ready to listen to God this time. They didn’t delay in becoming obedient. As soon as they became obedient, God let them know that He was right there with them and would give them all that they needed.

I have learned that if I don’t put God first, God doesn’t put me first. By this I mean, that my needs may not always be met. I may not be protected from the evil that is all around me. We have two choices, we can learn the easy way. We can respond to that gentle nudge or even those harsh warnings that we get from God. Or, we can learn the hard way. God can actually allow us to be given over to the bondage of our sin and we can be dragged down in the quagmire that our sin creates. Then we have to call out to Him and wait in the mess we have made while He pulls us out and cleans us up.

Are you busy taking care of all that you need and neglecting God? If you are, I can tell you from personal experience that you are headed for a heartache. Turn to God now. Put Him first in all that you do and trust in Him to take good care of you. When we love Him and do what He calls us to do, He works everything out for our good (Romans 8:28).

Have a great day!