Now therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways and set your mind on what has come to you.
- Haggai 1:5
God has a great big, wonderful, fulfilling life planned for you and me, but if we are stubborn (see Exodus 33:3) or hard-hearted, then we will miss what He has for us. Stubbornness and refusal to hear and obey God's voice keeps us set in our ways and unable to make progress. When we find ourselves in this condition, we often fail to stop and ask ourselves what the problem is.
Today's verse recounts a time when God's people were dissatisfied and experiencing many problems, so God told them to consider their ways. Many times when people are not fulfilled in life, they look everywhere except within themselves to find the reason. If you are unfulfilled in your life, do as God told the Old Testament people to do and "Consider your ways." Ask God to speak to you about "your ways," and pay attention to what He says. I have had to do this many times, and I have had to make changes in my thinking, my motives, or my behavior as a result. As I considered my ways over time, I found I was stubborn, hardheaded, opinionated, proud, and many other things that kept me from making progress. But, thank God, He has changed me! I pray He keeps on changing me and never stops.
I want everything God wants me to have and nothing He doesn't. I belong to Him and so do you. He wants you to have a happy, blessed, wonderful life, full of satisfaction and fulfillment. If you aren't living that kind of life, take time to consider your ways; ask God to show you what needs to change; and then do what He tells you to do.
God’s word for you today: Don’t be afraid to face the truth about yourself, because it sets you free.
A Misplaced Sense of Confidence
by Dr. Paul Chappell
“And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother. And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up.”
Luke 18:18–21
There is a vast gulf between the number of people who profess to be Christians and the number of people who have actually received salvation by grace through faith. Many of them have confidence in their standing with God, but it is sadly misplaced. Jesus said, “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?” (Matthew 7:22). The wealthy leader who came to Jesus seeking assurance of his standing with God thought that everything was fine. He was not asking because he thought he had a need, but to confirm what he already thought about his spiritual condition.
Charles Spurgeon said of this person, “This young man lacked knowledge. He did not know the spirituality of the law. He had never been taught that the law concerns our glances, our thoughts, and our imagination. He supposed he had kept the law because he had not committed any act of adultery, or of theft, nor had he spoken the thing that was not true. He did not know that an unchaste glance, or a causeless hatred, or a covetous desire breaks the law of God and betrays the sin that lurks in the breast. The question showed that he did not know that salvation is not by doing, but by believing—not by our works, but by a simple trust in Jesus.”
Luke 18:18–21
There is a vast gulf between the number of people who profess to be Christians and the number of people who have actually received salvation by grace through faith. Many of them have confidence in their standing with God, but it is sadly misplaced. Jesus said, “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?” (Matthew 7:22). The wealthy leader who came to Jesus seeking assurance of his standing with God thought that everything was fine. He was not asking because he thought he had a need, but to confirm what he already thought about his spiritual condition.
Charles Spurgeon said of this person, “This young man lacked knowledge. He did not know the spirituality of the law. He had never been taught that the law concerns our glances, our thoughts, and our imagination. He supposed he had kept the law because he had not committed any act of adultery, or of theft, nor had he spoken the thing that was not true. He did not know that an unchaste glance, or a causeless hatred, or a covetous desire breaks the law of God and betrays the sin that lurks in the breast. The question showed that he did not know that salvation is not by doing, but by believing—not by our works, but by a simple trust in Jesus.”
Today’s Growth Principle:
If your faith is solely in the finished work of Jesus then your salvation is fully settled and secure.
The Key to Fulfilment
by Joyce Meyer - posted August 13, 2016Now therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways and set your mind on what has come to you.
- Haggai 1:5
God has a great big, wonderful, fulfilling life planned for you and me, but if we are stubborn (see Exodus 33:3) or hard-hearted, then we will miss what He has for us. Stubbornness and refusal to hear and obey God's voice keeps us set in our ways and unable to make progress. When we find ourselves in this condition, we often fail to stop and ask ourselves what the problem is.
Today's verse recounts a time when God's people were dissatisfied and experiencing many problems, so God told them to consider their ways. Many times when people are not fulfilled in life, they look everywhere except within themselves to find the reason. If you are unfulfilled in your life, do as God told the Old Testament people to do and "Consider your ways." Ask God to speak to you about "your ways," and pay attention to what He says. I have had to do this many times, and I have had to make changes in my thinking, my motives, or my behavior as a result. As I considered my ways over time, I found I was stubborn, hardheaded, opinionated, proud, and many other things that kept me from making progress. But, thank God, He has changed me! I pray He keeps on changing me and never stops.
I want everything God wants me to have and nothing He doesn't. I belong to Him and so do you. He wants you to have a happy, blessed, wonderful life, full of satisfaction and fulfillment. If you aren't living that kind of life, take time to consider your ways; ask God to show you what needs to change; and then do what He tells you to do.
God’s word for you today: Don’t be afraid to face the truth about yourself, because it sets you free.
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