Consider This!
New Living Translation
WHAT DID GOD SAY TO ME THIS MORNING
Have you ever just wondered why things were happening the way they were in your life? Like why you can’t ever seem to get something right? Why your relationships are good, but not great? Why your money is okay, but you still find yourself not being debt free or able to just buy what you want? Why you experience a little success, but not a whole lot? Do you wonder why or do you just say to yourself, well this must be all there is to life, and I am just going to be satisfied with what God gives me.
I remember I used to say a phrase back in the day: ‘Oatmeal is better than no meal.’ Have you ever heard that used before? It’s like saying, ‘something is better than nothing'.’ When you just sit and think about that, it’s really a mindset full of lack.
As I was praying this morning and just thanking God for who He is in my life, all the ways He has gotten me to where I am today, I started thinking back. What prompted me to start thinking though was when I read the scriptural surprise in Haggai, chapter 1. I had read this passage before, but as always, I look for what the Holy Spirit wants me to see THIS TIME around. I saw this phrase spoken by the Lord Almighty twice: “Consider how things are going for you!” This same text is in Haggai 1, verses 5 and 7. “Consider how things are going for you!”
The first time it is spoken, what immediately follows is what I would consider a moment of reflection and revelation. It’s basically the Lord Almighty telling the prophet Haggai to run the tape back so the people can see what’s really been going on. This is what he said in the New Living Translation (Haggai 1:6)
You have planted much but harvested little.
You have wine to drink, but not enough to satisfy your thirst.
You have clothing to wear, but not enough to keep you warm.
Your wages disappear as though you were putting them in pockets filled with holes!
Now as I read that, it made me think back over my life. I have always prayed, but my relationship with God wasn’t as intimate as it is now. Plus I was in church every week and still sinning. Yep, I was asking for forgiveness and I believe the Lord was forgiving me, but I wasn’t TURNING FROM it all the way. I would do good for a while and then find myself messing up again. During this time in my life, I experienced what the prophet Haggai was describing in verse 6. I planted but didn’t harvest a lot. I paid my tithes most of the time. I had food to eat. I had wine to drink (or whiskey in my case), I had nice clothes to wear. And again, I was making a very good salary. But I was always coming up short. It was exactly like I had holes in my pockets. More month at the end of my money. I would apply for jobs to move up and make more money, but it wouldn’t work out. I would always feel like I could never get ahead like I really wanted to. It never dawned on me that I was living beneath what God wanted for me because I wasn’t being fully obedient.
See I used to think that I could just go to church. Pray. Sing in the choir. Usher. Work in the kids ministry. Write Christian Fiction books. Get notoriety. Go to book signings. Speak in churches. And still live how I wanted to live, because like I said, I was experiencing some success. I would pay my tithes in some seasons of my life; I had a great paying job; ate at all the really fine restaurants; wore cute clothes; and made some pretty good wages.
But when I read Haggai 1:8-11, the light bulb clicked on for me this morning. To give context, the people in Judah were living their best life but the Lord’s temple needed to be rebuilt. They were living in luxurious houses, while the Lord’s house was in ruins. They didn’t think the time had come yet to rebuild. So the Lord Almighty, sent a message to the people through the prophet Haggai.
So let’s pick back up to my light bulb moment. The Lord was saying to the people, consider how things are going for you. Then he ran the tape back for them to reflect on how things were going just okay. The Lord gave them instruction in Haggai 1:8, “Now go up into the hills, bring down timber, and rebuild my house. THEN, I will take pleasure in it and be honored.”
I want you to read verses 9-11 so you can see how the Lord withheld from the people because they didn’t make HIM a priority. They were too busy building their own lives for themselves. He said you hoped for rich harvests, but they were poor. And when you brought your harvest home, I blew it away. Why? Because my house lies in ruins, says the Lord Almighty, while you are all busy building your own fine houses. (Haggai 1:9)
Has the light bulb clicked for you yet? See when we focus only on serving ourselves, we won’t experience the full blessings that God has for us. Yes, you will get a little bit, but you definitely won’t get as much as God really wants you to have.
But here is the GOOD NEWS though because I am a walking testimony of it myself. When you focus on God, you will see things take a major turn in your life, just like it did for the people when they obeyed the call of God (Haggai 1:12). The people obeyed and worshiped the Lord in earnest. But this is the part that makes me want to jump out of this chair and run around and shout. When the people turned from being selfish and focusing on themselves to focusing on God, he let them know immediately, I AM WITH YOU and then He SPARKED ENTHUSIASM in the people, and they began their work on the house of the Lord! WOW!!!!
But y’all check this out!! On the day the foundation was laid for the temple, (read that again!!) On the day the foundation was laid for the temple, the Lord said “I am giving you a promise now while the seed is still in the barn before you have harvested your grain and before the grapevine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have produced their crops, FROM THIS DAY ONWARD I WILL BLESS YOU!
Basically, after today or one translation says, from now on, I will be good to you. I will bless you. And this happened on the day the foundation was laid. That means BEFORE THE TEMPLE WAS EVEN FINISHED!! If you are not shouting now, re-read it until you get it!!!!
That is exactly what has happened to me since I made God the the number one priority of my life. The blessings that I have received have blown my mind!!! I am experiencing a close relationship with God like never before. I have been healed. I have worshipped Him like never before. I have felt the favor upon my life like never before. I mean literally, from the moment I became obedient, God has opened the windows of heaven and poured me out so many blessings that I truly haven’t had room in my mind to receive!! I mean just straight up mind-blowing things happening for me, one after the other!
What made the difference from how I used to live to how I live now? Obedience!
I still go to church now. I still serve in the church. I still write books. I still have book signings. I still speak. But the biggest difference in my life now is my relationship with God. It’s real. It’s intimate. It’s non-negotiable. It’s everything to me!
Spending time in prayer every day and being obedient has changed my whole life!!! And the part that I want you to really understand is that it is not hard like the enemy wants you to think. It is certainly not boring AT ALL. You won’t even be attracted to the stuff that you’re thinking now you can’t live without (and you know what I’m talking about). But most importantly, I feel at peace. It’s like I am living the way God created me to live. And THAT alone is worth a full surrender of obedience. I AM FREE!!
So I encourage you to stop living beneath what God created for you to live. If you experience any of what the prophet Haggai was describing where you just feel okay with your life, but you know deep down it is not great, then it’s time to consider how things are going for you, and make a decision to be obedient and spend way more time with the Lord. I promise you this…it is soooooo much better on this side y’all!! Ain’t no way you could tempt me to go backwards!! Make God a priority and watch what happens IMMEDIATELY!
Hearts & Hugs
SALVATION PRAYER
If you’re not a believer and have a desire to be, openly confess and declare with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9). When you pray that prayer out loud, you are saved. Get connected with a good, bible-based church in your community and start having a conversation through prayer with God every day. And let me be the first to welcome you to your new life with Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. YAAAAY!!!!! You made the best decision you could ever make! Feel free to email me at info@onassignmentbyGod.com and let me know about your newfound life or if you need prayer for anything.
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