Think About It
“Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways. Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes. Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.” Haggai 1:5-7
I was talking to someone recently concerning the fact that age is not necessarily a determining factor for maturity. All of us are familiar with some young people who show much more wisdom than some middle-aged folks who have never gotten over living for themselves. One good sign of maturity is living and making decisions with our future as well as others in mind. The above passage speaks of a people who were living for themselves to the neglecting of God’s plan and purpose. The path they had chosen resulted in them living but going nowhere in life. As some might say, they were just “spinning their wheels”. The prophet, Haggai, is trying to get the people to think as he says, “consider your ways”. Twice in the three verses, he is imploring them to THINK about it…
If God’s Word is true – and it is – why do we choose to ignore Him and His ways at times by leaning on our own understanding? Proverbs 3:5,6 says, “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”
Is our life better off in OUR hands or GOD’S hand?
Matthew 6:33 reminds us, “But seek ye FIRST the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” He has promised to guide our every step and meet our every need if we will only trust Him by putting Him first in our lives.
Some good questions for young people as well as young to middle-aged adults would be – “Am I completely surrendered to God’s will?” “What are my goals in life?” “Am I praying about them?” “Do they line up with God’s Word?” “What am I doing NOW to reach those goals?” “Where do I see myself in 5 years, 10 years, etc?”
Satan has no desire for God’s people to make an impact on this world for the cause of Christ. He cannot take our salvation from us, but he will try with all his might to keep us from being productive Christians through his weapons of discouragement, doubts, defeat, distractions, etc. Galatians 5:7 says, “Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?”
Is something or someone hindering us today?
Because each of our hearts is prone to wander, thus causing us to stray off God’s path, how important it is to stay in The Book that promises to light our way! “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” Proverbs 119:105. Below are some good guidelines, taken from Proverbs 4:25-27, for staying on course in our spiritual walk and thus reaching goals that God has put in our hearts:
vs.25 – THE DIRECTION OF OUR EYES –> on the future – “Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.”
vs.26 – THE REFLECTION OF OUR MIND –> on our present path – “Ponder the path of thy feet and let all thy ways be established.”
vs.26 – THE REJECTION OF OUR FEET –> of evil – “Turn not to the right hand nor to the left; remove thy foot from evil.”
May we continually ask the Lord for wisdom beyond our years to help us see where our present path is taking us as well as, with God’s help, make any necessary adjustments along the way.
Think about it…
“O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!” Deuteronomy 32:29
~ Rachel ~