‘CONSIDER YOUR WAYS’

Thus saith the Lord of hosts; consider your ways,” Haggai 1:7. Greetings to you dear reader, in the name of Jesus, the Son of the living God. Reader ‘consider your ways’ in the Bible is an appeal that has been repeatedly made by God to His people in Israel during their hard times; times of need when they desperately needed God their provider. And because of God’s love for His people, He appealed to them not to cry to Him, but to consider their own ways with their God.

On the return from exile of the children of God, they were determined to rebuild the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. Along with them was an already old man, Prophet Haggai. And when opposition grew to the reconstruction work, the children of God were discouraged by those who stood against the work; they were also disheartened by the lack of resources to carry out the work of God.

The times were hard; things were not working out for the people of God; and the situation was worsened by the need for them to rebuild their own homes while rebuilding God’s temple.

So God decided to speak to them through His prophet, old Haggai. At one time the word of the Lord came to Prophet Haggai to the people saying; “Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your ceiled houses, and this house lie waste? Now therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts; consider your ways.” God was reminding them of their lack of faithfulness towards the Almighty God. He was telling them to turn their eyes towards themselves in times of trouble, instead of God; for they were the source of their own hardships. Their lives were not right with God.

relationship

God also addressed the people through the prophet as follows: “Ye have sown much, and bring in little.” So a scanty harvest may speak of the sower’s relationship with God. “Ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink but ye are not filled with drink,” Haggai 1:6. Neither food nor drink is satisfying to you. You are always hungry and thirsty of something in life, just because of your relationship with God. And this reminds me of my life before I met Christ.

Reader, I had an education and a profession as a lawyer; I drove big cars and lived in a big house; I made good money and lived in relative luxury but I knew that something was missing in my life. I spent a term as a Cabinet minister and was chauffeur driven. I spent six weeks on holiday in the United States, thinking I would come back satisfied with life, but I came back with drooping ears. People who knew me may have thought I was a happy man, but I was not. My life was empty with all these things around me.

But the turning point came when I had an encounter with God; when I made myself a fool and gave my life to Jesus. Then I became more than satisfied even without all these things around me. I still have various needs but they cannot take away my joy in Christ. I can say with Nehemiah and others that ‘the joy of the Lord is my strength’ (Nehemiah 8:10).

Reader I do believe that God is appealing to someone with the same words today: ‘Consider your ways’. You may be where you are, not because someone hates you; nor because God has forgotten you; but because of your present relationship with God. And I can say to you with confidence, this may just be the day of your salvation, if you truly give your life to Christ right now.

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