Day Thirteen – Haggai 2:7-8

‘I will shake all the nations; and they will come with the wealth of all nations, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine,’ declares the Lord of hosts.^[1]

In the previous verse Haggai tells the Jews that the resources they will need to build the temple He will provide. As the God over all creation, He will “shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land,” but now He expands His reach to all the nations of the earth. “They will come with the wealth of all nations, and I will fill this house with glory.” So often our forward momentum is stopped when presented with a seeming insurmountable challenge because we cannot figure out how we will come up with the necessary finances. Of course, wisdom dictates that one should count the cost before beginning a construction project to make certain they have the finances to complete it, and Jesus Himself confirms such a consideration (Luke 14:28). But there is a distinct difference between the projects we decide and the charges God gives.

When God gives a charge He does not have to count the cost, He is the cost. So, Haggai tells the Jews that God declares that all the wealth of the world belong to Him, the gold, the silver, all of it. The Psalmist tells us that “the cattle on a thousand hills” belong to Him. But it is hard to wrap ourselves around such a reality. We have been conditioned to be self-reliant. We go at the challenges of our lives as if it is all up to us. We stand upon our own ability, and either succeed or fail on our own merit. Living life in this manner only causes us to live beneath our privilege as the children of God.

Understand that God knows better than we do the challenges we face as well as those we will face. He is not surprised by the obstacles we encounter, but has the capacity to either move them out of the way, or lead us through and around them. The community had delayed fulfilling their assignment for fourteen years. How long have you delayed because you could not see how you would complete your assignment? Make a decision today to revisit the calling on your life. Stretch your faith and trust God to do in you what He has always promised He would do and go to work.

Dear Lord, we confess our weak faith. We confess we have placed more confidence in our own ability than in Your word. As a consequence we have failed to do the things You have assigned and have settled for things we decided were more attainable. Forgive us for our lack of faith and confidence and speak to us once again. Show us the things You would have us to do and, like the community of old show us, tell us what You will do to provide for those assignments. Today we recommit ourselves to walking in Your will and Your way for our lives and with confidence begin again the work to which we have been assigned, in Jesus’ precious name. Amen.

^[1] New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Hag 2:7–8.