“‘But now be strong, Zerubbabel,’ declares the Lord. ‘Be strong, Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land,’ declares the Lord, ‘and work. For I am with you,’ declares the Lord Almighty.”
Haggai 2:4 (NIV)
If I allowed my desires and expectations to determine my decisions, you wouldn’t be reading this.
I’ve been at this chapter-a-day journey now for 20 years. If you go back and look at my posts in the early days, they’re pretty meager. One paragraph, maybe two.
But I kept going.
For many years I would look regularly at my blog stats. “How many people viewed my post? Is anyone reading it?” The numbers were pitiful, really. They were downright disheartening.
I kept going.
Pretty much every day for well over a decade the “censor” in my head whispered discouraging thoughts every…single…day…
“This is stupid — posting every week day. No one cares.”
“Nobody reads these posts. Your numbers are awful.”
“Why are you doing this? Give yourself a break and just stop.”
Still… I kept going.
In today’s chapter, the work of rebuilding God’s Temple in Jerusalem has begun. Of course, it’s going to be a long slog. It doesn’t take long before discouragement sets in like a cold draft under the door. Those who remember the glory of Solomon’s Temple look at what they are doing and it seems so… underwhelming.
The work begins to falter.
The prophet Haggai shows up with three messages from God over the course of a few months.
In the first message, God speaks through Haggai and says, “Be strong. Do the work. I am with you.” And then He gives a breathtaking promise:
“The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house…”
Not because of gold, cedar, and visual opulence, but because of presence. in a few hundred years the Son of God will walk into this Temple, teach, heal, and declare the coming of God’s Kingdom. Those who are doing the work of raising a meager Temple from the rubble cannot fathom the eternal purposes that God has planned for the work they are doing.
In the second message, God reminds his people that holiness isn’t contagious, but defilement is. Their half-hearted spiritual obedience has a ripple effect in their lives and outcomes.
But God’s tone shifts as they pick up their trowels:
“From this day on I will bless you.”
The pivot isn’t perfection. It’s a turn toward simple faithfulness.
Haggai’s third message is for the governor, Zerubbabel, who is overseeing this reclamation project called Jerusalem, along with the rebuilding of the Temple. Every day, he sees dirt, dust, rubble, and the remnants of destruction and desolation. Every day the task seems so huge and he feels so small. God reminds him that the work he’s doing is going to change nations and be instrumental in the game of thrones. God tells Z, “I will make you my signet ring.” He will be God’s chosen instrument and a symbol of God’s authority and identity.
“You matter more than you think in this Story that I’m writing.”
And, in the quiet this morning, that brings my thoughts back to this chapter-a-day journey.
Yesterday was my 60th birthday. Last night Wendy and I, along with our friends, gathered to celebrate the launch of a book I just published. It was a really good day, and the fulfillment of a life-long dream. But it was also built on a foundation of twenty years of getting up each week day morning, writing my thoughts, and scattering them to the internet like a sower tossing his seeds to the wind.
If stats and likes and popularity and fame were what was important, I would have given up almost as soon as I started.
My chapter-a-day journey has taught me that when God calls me to do something, my job is simply being faithful to the task and trusting Him with the outcomes. Like Z and the people of Jerusalem laying one brick at a time, I can’t possibly fathom what God will ultimately do or the eternal outcomes of the task.
If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.
