Think Carefully

Haggai 1:5
The Lord says, “Think carefully about your ways:…”

This is the message of the Lord to the Israelites who had gone back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. They had started out well, excited, full of energy, and ready to work. The problem is, life had happened, the work got difficult, they were opposed by some, and they lost focus. They ended up distracted, took their eyes off the mission, and started doing their own things. Sound familiar? Maybe that is you. You started on your walk with God, you understood the mission of sharing the love and hope of Christ with others, but somewhere along the way life got hard. Maybe you got discouraged and lost focus. The next thing you knew you had become distracted by personal cares, and now you are way off course. God is saying to you the same words he had Haggai speak to the Israelites, “Think carefully about your ways.” When he spoke this to the Israelites, guess what they did? They thought about their ways, saw they were wrong, changed their direction, and got back to building the temple. We can do the same. We can realize we are heading off track, recommit to the mission of Christ and allow the Holy Spirit to leads us the way we should go.
Later in Haggai chapter two God has Haggai encourage the people, “Be strong, work! For I am with you, my Spirit is present among you, don’t be afraid.” I think God is saying the same to us today. “Don’t get distracted, be strong, work! My Spirit is among you.”
May I encourage you this morning, stay focused, don’t forget the mission, finish what God has asked you to do. God will provide everything you need if you remain faithful to him. Keep going!

-Pastor Tim