Over Coming Disappointment
"The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,’
says the Lord of hosts. ‘And in this place I will give peace,’ says the Lord of hosts."
Haggai 2:9
Satan’s only design and desire is to hurt the cause of God. To do his infernal work, he has many weapons in his arsenal. He may at one time use greed, another time use anger or malice or false accusation, still another time use lust, evil desires, or the temptation to revenge. But of all his weapons, none is sharper than the one called discouragement. If only he can get the saints of God to despair over their efforts, then his battle is already won.
Disappointment is the theme of today's Bible passage. The people in Israel during the ministry of the prophet Haggai are disappointed and discouraged. The Babylonians had invaded Israel. They had taken the people away to Babylon as captives, and had destroyed Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem.
After 50 years, some of the people were allowed to return to Israel. When they arrived, they began the process of rebuilding their Temple. The work stopped after just a short time because of opposition from the Samaritans. For 16 years, the Temple remained unfinished. Then, God raised up the prophet Haggai to call the people back to their task of rebuilding the Temple.
The people responded to the voice of God's man, and they began to build again. But after only a month, they became discouraged, and again they wanted to stop. They were disappointed by the Temple they were building, and they were discouraged in the work they were doing.
Haggai writes to them to challenge them and to encourage them to carry on. That is a message I think we could all use today. Do not be discouraged, look unto the Lord Jesus and be refreshed by His love and care for you.
Read
Haggai 2:1-9.
Prayer
There is none like You, Oh Magnificent Father. No one else can touch the heart the way that You do. Help me to overcome disappointment when it comes my way. In Christ, I pray. Amen.
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