From This Day On I Will Bless You
Haggai 2:19
Is there still seed left in the granary? The vine, the fig, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have no yet produced. But from this day on I will bless you.
When Cyrus the Great defeated the Babylonians, he freed the captives and allowed them to return to their homelands. This included Jews who returned to Jerusalem, who built an altar on the temple site and resumed their worship through sacrificial offerings to the LORD. Instead of building a temple for proper worship, however, they began to create a new life for themselves by building nice homes while the temple site lay in ruins. God had freed them so they could establish true worship again, but they made their own houses a priority over His.
God spoke through Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah that he had prevented them from prospering in their homeland because they had neglected His house. Zerubbabel rallied the people, and they set out to rebuild the temple of the LORD. From the moment they decided to honor God, He promised to bless them.
Our worship must be a priority. God speaks to us and guides us through our worship. As Jesus instructed His disciples, when we seek Him first, all these things – homes, food, clothing, daily necessities – will be added to us. When we determine to put God first and seek Him, He will bless us. He is with us in our endeavors to serve and honor Him.
We live in a time of great economic uncertainty where the cost of living is increasing daily and no relief in sight. Savings accounts and nest eggs are rapidly diminishing, and many are battling a decision of whether to eat or keep warm this winter. We are definitely not living in a season of God’s blessing economically, so we must seek Him first to find answers. While we may be tempted to make ourselves a priority, now is the time to make worship a priority. Just as God was trying to get the attention of the Jews who had returned to Jerusalem from Babylonian captivity by preventing them from prospering, He is now calling us to true worship. Now, more than ever, is the time to get serious about building the house of God and making His house greater than our own. When we turn and begin to build His house, He will bless us going forward.
The government is not our answer. God is. When we make our worship a priority, He will begin to bless us in the midst of economic downturn. Let’s determine to build God’s house today. He also promised that the glory of the later house would be greater than the first. I’m ready to see the later glory arise, and I hope you are, too.
Have a blessed day!