As I take my walks I let my mind talk to God. Often I thank Him for just being there for me. Other times I tell him about my hopes and dreams. Sometimes I ask Him to help me with some issue in my life. Through these talks I have learned to be more silent and listen. Not with my ears but through observance after I have prayed. God gives me answers in a way that is like hearing but more like observing. Sometimes doors close and that answer is often disappointing or startling. other times I see His plan unfolding right before my eyes. I compare this to the Israelite people in Biblical times. They were a people who went through being captured and taken into other countries and being forced to learn a new way of living in a foreign land. At one time they had a temple where God revealed Himself to them. It was destroyed by enemies. Throughout the many times of war,capture and learning new ways they forgot about their living God. A prophet named Haggai came to them and told them to look at the rubble around them.He said to remember their God and rebuild the Temple.
The prophet Haggai had an important message for the Jews who had recently returned from exile. They had forgotten their God, choosing instead to focus on their own interests, so it was time for them to “consider [their] ways”. Nothing was more important for the Jews than to show that the Lord was at the center of their thoughts and actions, so Haggai directed them to finish rebuilding God’s temple.
However, rather than leaving them alone with the task of rebuilding, Haggai continued to preach to the Jews, encouraging them with the hope of future glory in the temple and a victory to come over the enemies of God’s people (2:7–9, 21–22). According to Haggai’s message, if the people would place God at the center of their lives, they would realize the future blessings that God had in store for His people.
How do I apply this?
The Jews who emigrated from Babylon to their original homeland of Judah faced intense opposition, both external and internal. Ezra 4:1–5 records the external resistance to the project of rebuilding the temple. The enemies of Judah first attempted to infiltrate the ranks of the builders, and when that didn't work, they resorted to scare tactics. Haggai, on the other hand, focused on the internal opposition they faced, namely from their own sin. The Jews had thoughtlessly placed their own interests before the Lord’s interests, looking after their own safety and security without giving consideration to the status of the Lord’s house.
Haggai’s encouragement to rebuild the temple in the face of the Jews’ neglect brings to mind the apostle Paul’s exhortation to Christians to build our lives on the foundation of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 3:10–17). Are you building a life that reflects your status as a temple of the Holy Spirit, leaving a legacy that will stand the test of time?
Sometimes we go around in life just broken with our lives only in bits and pieces because of the things we have gone through. Bad relationships, broken families, Sin, disobedience to God, addictions, hurts, illness you name it. These are all things that can be lying around in our lives, Broken parts. God wants to come into our lives and make us whole. We can allow Him to pick up those broken pieces and repair them making us whole and complete in Him. Let God rebuild your temple. Sometimes when I take walks I think or pray to God. I ask Him to work things out to fix things for me. Then I have learned to place it in His Hands. He speaks to me through events that happen in my life. It could be He keeps me from something that would hurt or hinder His plan for my life. Other times I see His plan unfolding before me. When we pray, lets place the final verdict in Gods hands and wait to "Listen" or see what He does. He loves us and will never fail us.
Sometimes we go around in life just broken with our lives only in bits and pieces because of the things we have gone through. Bad relationships, broken families, Sin, disobedience to God, addictions, hurts, illness you name it. These are all things that can be lying around in our lives, Broken parts. God wants to come into our lives and make us whole. We can allow Him to pick up those broken pieces and repair them making us whole and complete in Him. Let God rebuild your temple. Sometimes when I take walks I think or pray to God. I ask Him to work things out to fix things for me. Then I have learned to place it in His Hands. He speaks to me through events that happen in my life. It could be He keeps me from something that would hurt or hinder His plan for my life. Other times I see His plan unfolding before me. When we pray, lets place the final verdict in Gods hands and wait to "Listen" or see what He does. He loves us and will never fail us.
