“Give Careful Thought…”
Argh!!! Caught myself doing it again! Sitting down, picking up my phone, scrolling through social media, and 30 minutes later – precious time wasted. So frustrated with myself.
What’s your ditch? Where do you suddenly wake up and wonder how you got there and why you stayed so long? Where we invest our resources – time included – reveals our priorities. If we claim to follow Jesus, our calendars should reveal that we’re investing in life-giving, God-honoring, people-blessing endeavors. Misplaced priorities lead to neglect of the “greater things” of God, and others suffer because of our complacency and lack of discipline.
In the first chapter of the book of Haggai, the Israelite exiles have been graciously allowed to return to Jerusalem from captivity in Babylon. They’ve been tasked with the rebuilding of God’s Temple. After being discouraged by all kinds of challenges, they’ve abandoned the work they’d set out to do. Instead, they set their sights on constructing luxurious homes for themselves.
The prophet Haggai delivers God’s word of caution to His people: “Give careful thought to your ways.” God had warned the Israelites that living for themselves and their own pleasure and comfort would carry consequences, and now they’re feeling the pain of their decisions. God has sent drought. Their crops are failing, and the livestock are suffering. As a result, their economy is failing as well.
They’ve shifted their focus from relying on God to meet their needs to depending on the works of their own hands. God is kind enough to rebuke them and call them back to their original purpose in returning to Jerusalem.
It’s easy to drift away from God’s best and settle for lesser things. But God equips us with everything we need to stay focused, faithful, and fruitful. It depends on our choices – our way or God’s way? Life is a series of moment-by-moment decisions that determine whether we flail or flourish and how we impact the world for our King.
If you see me with my phone in hand, you’ll also notice a janky piece of blue cardstock taped to the front of it. On that paper are the words I need to help me make better decisions: “Give careful thought to your ways.” (Haggai 1:5,7) It’s a small roadblock to a bad habit. But it’s helping me to be more mindful of how I spend my time, and it’s reminding me to live for the purpose for which I was intended – to glorify God. How about you, friend? How can you add some much needed roadblocks to whatever is hindering your walk with the Lord?
