Blown Away

Haggai 1:7 Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Consider your ways! v.9 You look for much, but behold it comes to little; when you bring it home, I blow it away. Why?” declares the Lord of hosts, “Because of My house which lies desolate, while each of you runs to his own house.” (NASB)

Luke 11:42 “…Woe to you Pharisees, because you give a tenth of your mint, rue and all kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and love of the Lord. You should have practiced the latter WITHOUT LEAVING THE FORMER UNDONE. (NIV)

Prior to the message from Haggai the prophet, the people of God had begun to build His temple but became discouraged by trials, obstacles and difficult circumstances. Instead of continuing with the work, they quit and just went on about building their own homes only. The Lord’s temple was left desolate. The
temple of the Holy Spirit is quite different now than it was in Haggai’s day, but the heart of God has not changed. It is still pleasing to Him when we put His kingdom first. Likewise, it is still displeasing to Him and brings unpleasant consequences of one sort or another when we fail to put Him first.

Back in the day of Haggai, building the temple involved contributing to the needed supplies and laboring on the temple itself. I do not think it is a stretch to also say that building the temple in his day involved a heart’s desire to see God honored, a sense of commitment, and concern for fellow laborers. Today is scarcely any different. Missing building blocks back then would have hindered the temple’s usefulness and strength. Today, we are the building blocks. If we are missing the same thing happens. During the Covid crisis some people are unable gather at the physical church structure, but that does not excuse any of us from serving as building blocks in the kingdom of God.

One thing we all can and should do is tithe. Tithing is something Jesus Himself told us not to neglect. Years ago, before my husband was a Christian we were separated for a season. I had a minimum wage job at the time and a distance between my place of employment, my youngest child’s daycare and our
place of residence. One time my tank was actually reading empty as I left work. The only money I had on me was the Lord’s tithe but God had already proven His trustworthiness to me, so I did not touch it. I drove on faith fumes to pick up my daughter. When I got to the daycare a brother in Christ said, “The Lord has instructed me to fill your gas tank for you.” I didn’t have to ask. God handled it for me. I was also blessed by an anonymous benefactor at work with an envelope which contained a large amount of money and the scripture Proverbs 3:5-6. (Note: If you are a wife living with an unbelieving or disobedient husband, you are not responsible to tithe on what your husband controls, only what you control.)

As for what else you can do to build His kingdom, ask God. He has some really great ideas for each and every one of us. If we wholeheartedly seek Him for ways to serve and to encourage others, we will be absolutely blown away by what He comes up with for us to be blessed by doing.