Does the task of building a home ever seem a bit overwhelming?
Is there ever a day when the task does not seem overwhelming, would be a more likely question I think. The people of God had a seemingly overwhelming task recorded in the book of Haggai. They were supposed to rebuild the Temple—God’s house. The task was before them but they struggled with keeping their focus, with being discouraged with the process and with having the patience to see the job through. When they did have days of real focus, they couldn’t understand why the progress wasn’t multiplied. The old saying, “Rome wasn’t built in a day” hadn’t been shared yet, obviously, because they expected a quicker turnaround than they were seeing. Besides that, the people fell into the comparison trap. They just couldn’t ever see the house they were building as anything that would ever compare to the “former house”—-to a house built by another group of people. Aren’t we that way in building our homes? Isn’t there always a family that just seems to be building faster, with more results, with all the right things—the perfect accessories if you will? Well—-be encouraged! Not much is as it seems from the outside. There are no perfect homes, mainly because there are no perfect people. So that home that you think has got it all together is probably not all that you think. And—just as well, we must know that God has provided EVERYTHING that each of us need to build the home and family that is pleasing to Him, that is productive and that can make a beautiful impact in our world today! Why can I say that? One reason! Our motivation today can be the same as it was for the people in Haggai. “…Be strong, all you people still left in the land. And now get to work, for I am with you, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. My Spirit remains among you, just as I promised when you came out of Egypt. So do not be afraid.” (2:4-5) My interpretation on that—-Get up and get at it! Building anything of value has never been easy and never will, BUT—the Holy Spirit of God is with me! The creator of the entire universe is willing to walk with me daily as I forge this great task! We are NOT ALONE on this project! There is One who is more concerned with my progress than I—-so much so that He has promised to never leave or forsake me. He is on it! IF I will be faithful on my side, I can be assured that something GREAT will come out of this building project I’m involved in! The master builder has promised to assist me every step of the way! I’m shouting THANK YOU JESUS at the thought of that!