A Brick at a Time

Read: Haggai 2
“4 Yet now be strong, alert, and courageous, O Zerubbabel, says the Lord; be strong, alert, and courageous, O Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest; and be strong, alert, and courageous, all you people of the land, says the Lord, and work! For I am with you, says the Lord of hosts.” Haggai 2:4

Examine:
God could have addressed them all at once by just saying be strong and courageous but He did not. He spoke to them on three levels. Zerubbable represented the practical leadership of Israel as he was their governor and heir to the throne. Jehozadak represented the people spiritually as the head priest of the Levites. The people represented the labor and submission required to get the job done. He finishes this encouragement with a one-word command; work!

Apply:
When I read this passage I have to start with the end. The command is to work. Work demands sustained physical, emotional, and mental effort. Work demands labor and duty in an effort to overcome obstacles and accomplish objectives. Work is a specific duty but is tied to a much larger objective that is never fully done. Work necessitates endurance, ensures testing, and imposes pain. God did not say sit idle while I make it all happen. He said dig in and work!

Nothing of God will ever come because of me and my efforts. There is no way to read the scripture and come to any conclusion other than it is only by God. God balances this by bringing in an equal but opposite truth in by saying that nothing of God ever comes to one who does not work. The tension between these two truths keeps me both moving forward and looking towards God.

Pray:
To accomplish the task that You have given I will have to be strong and courageous in applying wisdom through leadership. There is nothing unspiritual about plans, whiteboards, flip charts, budgets, and task lists. There is nothing unspiritual about addressing practical needs, preparing talks, and outlining strategy. Those are components of great leadership and very much part of the work. Help me be strong and courageous in my leadership today.

Being strong and courageous in my spiritual life is somewhat trickier than doing it in leadership. Leadership is always more tangible in that the information I need is written before me in black and white. Spiritual courage requires a child-like faith of trust that regardless of is written down or what my emotions say You are still God over all. I am trusting in my heart so I ask that You plant in it only the thoughts You desire for me to have. Keep me pure, strong, bold, and courageous in all that You have promised. Keep my fear of man and conflict from hindering the plans you have for me.

The worker in me hates tasks with no end. The labor gets intense as conflict arises, resources become scarce, and people fall away. But the command today is to work. I need for You to remind me today that I will likely not see the completion of the work to which You have called me for I only play a small roll. I need for You to plant deep inside of me a great passion to not focus on the temple You are building here but to just be faithful a brick at a time.