Haggai 1:5-6 – Now therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts: “Consider your ways! “You have sown much, and bring in little; You eat, but do not have enough; You drink, but you are not filled with drink; You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; And he who earns wages, Earns wages to put into a bag with holes.”

God was judging Israel concerning their material things, and they were not recognizing it as His judgment. When God disciplines you, there is a reason for it. The child of God needs to consider his ways. You need to examine your own heart to see why God is testing your endurance or using sandpaper on you. God wants to smooth the rough edges from your life; so He does use the sandpaper of testing. God won’t let anything happen to you unless it has a purpose for you. God is trying to develop something valuable in your heart and life. That is why God said, “consider your ways.” Man’s ways always seem right to him. The writer of the Book of Proverbs says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.” (Prov. 14:12). The problem with mankind today is that we will want to go our own way.

Challenge:

This past Sunday we talked about “considering Jesus” in the light of every situation of our lives. While you are considering Jesus you will naturally consider your ways as well. Your challenge this week is to consider the things in your life that are not producing the results that you thought they would produce. Consider the things you are doing that perhaps the Lord would rather you not be doing or the things you are not doing that He wants you to be doing. The children of Israel had neglected God’s house, while all the while maintaining their own houses. Take time to search your heart to see if you have abandoned something God has asked of you that you have unknowingly ignored.