Haggai: What's Next?نموونە

What Will God Do Next?

Speaking of his Christian faith, John Chapman said, ‘The first 50 years are the hardest.’ Maybe that’s dramatic. Maybe it’s spot on. God’s people, after decades of struggle, came to the end of themselves and learned to rely on God for hope, strength, and sustenance. We can do the same.

There may have been times when your relationship with Jesus has been bumpy, and perhaps you’ve felt as if you were failing God in colossal ways. On our own, we don’t have what it takes to walk with God. While our efforts alone aren’t enough to see us through what God will do next in our lives, we can celebrate the oft-used New Testament refrain, ‘But God!’. That phrase gives us tremendous hope for our Christian lives.

God does something about our inadequacy so that we will truly live for Him. He reinforces and sustains us on the faith journey so we’re able to scale insurmountable obstacles in His strength. Haggai 2:1–9 describes the second last day of the Feast of Tabernacles. God’s people had flocked to Jerusalem to commemorate Israel’s 40-year wilderness experience and to celebrate God’s miraculous provision in the desert. A month before, they’d repented, reprioritised, and refocused on building God’s house – and yet still, morale in Jerusalem was low. The people were immobilised by spiritual nostalgia that prevented them from stepping into what God had for them next. They were discouraged, realising their best efforts weren’t enough to do what God had called them to do. However, what God wants to do next in our lives is always greater than what we’ve ever known before, if we surrender to Him. Through Haggai, God promised the people His presence, power, and peace, and He assured them that the future would be better than the past.

God urged His people to move ahead in the knowledge that He was with them, and He was fortifying them in soul and substance. He would shake the nations for the necessary resources to rebuild the temple – which He did, through Darius of Persia (seen in Ezra 5–6). Remembering who is with you – the Lord Almighty – will fortify you to work towards what’s next in your life. You are not alone, and God will continue to sustain you and provide for you, enabling you to take your next step.

On our own, none of us has what it takes to be and do all God has called us to. But God! May you remember that the next chapter of your life in God’s Kingdom is unshakeable – no matter how much the world around you has been shaken. Your Heavenly Father promises to sustain you through what He is calling you into.