Haggai 1:4-7 – “Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? Now, therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways. You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes.”
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After the people of Judah returned from their Babylonian captivity, they began the process of rebuilding their lives. They neglected, however, to make the worship of God a central component of those lives. They worked on their own houses, but left the temple of God, the place of worship, in ruins.
God, in this short section, responds to the neglect of his “house.” He asked the people if they thought it right for them to live in paneled houses, nice and fancy homes, when his worship was neglected. He wanted to know if they really thought they should make themselves rich and try to live at ease when they had completely forgotten to focus on him. And the obvious answer to such a question is that this is not right at all.
God then told them that it is because of how they have treated him that none of them are satisfied. They may eat, but never feel satisfied. They may drink, but never feel satisfied. They may earn some money, but it never seems to be enough. And all that is the curse that is upon anyone who seeks their own personal satisfaction above the glory of God. Anyone who seeks satisfaction in this life in the things that this world has to offer will find themselves always longing for and scraping for more.
Today, let us make certain not to make the mistakes of the people of Judah. Let us not seek for our own satisfaction in the little treasures of this life. God must be the center. His worship must be primary in our lives. When we give all that we have for his glory, we will find our hearts fully satisfied and abundantly blessed (Psalm 16:11; 63:5). Such a blessing is not necessarily the blessing of wealth and prosperity, but it is the blessing of joy in doing the very thing for which we were created. That joy, the joy that comes when we glorify God, is the only joy that will genuinely satisfy our souls.
Dear Lord, I pray that you will never allow me to neglect your glory for my comfort. Your glory is all that will truly satisfy my soul. No treasure that I could ever gain on this earth compares to the joy of a life lived for your glory. Please empower me to do your will and glorify your name. Please grant me the opportunity to live, this day, for your glory—a glory which will bring my heart ultimate satisfaction.
Pastor Travis Peterson 