Striving

Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.” Haggai 1:5-6 New International Version (NIV)

I read the book of Haggai a couple weeks ago and was struck by these verses. First of all, who is this Haggai and how did he manage to write a book worthy of entrance in the Bible?

As you already know, I’m not a Bible scholar, and I’m not going to pretend to be one, so I’m simply going to tell you that Haggai was one of the minor prophets. His message is a plea for the people to get to work on rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem, which doesn’t seem so important to us now, but as usual, the Lord’s message speaks to us here and now.

I don’t care who you are, you can find the personal message in these verses. Don’t we all have a tendency to strive for something we cannot have? Search for happiness in the wrong places? Set our priorities on the wrong goals?

Instead we need to strive for a relationship with our Savior. Turn our sights to the One who can fill our empty tummies, empty pockets and empty hearts. He said that only He could offer us water so that we would never be thirsty again. We will always stay warm in His loving arms. And the sand won't get in our shoes. 

Lord, God, Heavenly Father, thank You for sending Your Son to be our Savior, to save us from our sinful natures, to allow us eternal life. Amen.