Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind, for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.
Psalm 107:8-9 NIV
We live in a culture of constant complaining. A sign of dissatisfaction. A sign of emptiness. A sign of never having enough.
The irony is that we live in a culture. a country. where most of us have far more than we need. We eat too much and complain about being overweight. We work too much and complain we are tired. We spend hours of our days on streaming videos and social media then complain we don’t have enough time.
We consume. we do. we fill. but it’s never enough.
This is not a twenty-first century problem. It’s been an issue in the lives of God’s people for a long time. Because the truth is, it’s not a consumption concern, it’s a heart issue.
Read Haggai 1:2-11
What complaints do you hear in this passage? from God? from the people?
Haggai was a prophet to God’s people after they returned to Jerusalem from exile in Babylon. The people were commanded by Cyrus, king of Persia, to return to their homeland and rebuild God’s temple. But the people decided they needed to build their houses first. They needed to establish their businesses and savings accounts before doing the business of God.
Does this sound familiar? Have you said it to yourself?
As soon as I’m settled, when ___________ is accomplished, THEN I’ll do what God is calling me to do. Go to that Bible study. Serve in that ministry. Be more faithful in prayer and take time to be in His Word.
Seriously. Does it sound familiar?
God’s people in Haggai’s day had a physical temple they were called to rebuild so they could worship Him as the law called them to do. But today, this side of the cross, in the New Covenant, Believers are His temple. We are the house of God.
Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?
1Corinthians 3:16 NIV
We build God’s house by doing the work of prayer, spending time with Him in His Word, and practicing obedience. It is by investing in our relationship with God that we begin to find satisfaction in life.
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
God’s people have always been called to seek His glory and what pleases Him first – make Him the focus of their lives and not self. It is in this proper order of things we find fulfillment and discover time, energy, and resources to share with others.
This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build my house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored,” says the Lord.
Haggai 1:7-8 NIV
Faith learns and comes to know NOTHING is ever enough until we thank God for it and honor Him as the source of all we have. Seeing to our own needs instead of glorifying God with our lives ensures we will be empty and unsatisfied.
In this season of giving thanks, take time to consider your ways. Do you find more to complain about than to be thankful for? Does your life feel empty? Is nothing never enough?
Maybe it’s time to build your relationship with God: Father, Son, Holy Spirit. Seek to make room for Him in your heart – His current home – see to His desires before your own. Treat Him as the most honored houseguest you have ever entertained and you will find the abundant, soul satisfying life you always desired.
I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.
Psalm 63:4-5 NIV
Praying you have a thoroughly satisfying Thanksgiving!
Carol & Stacy
[Feature Image Photo by Paz Arando on Unsplash]
Unraveled Love 
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