1 Sept 2026
Consider Your Ways
Consider Your Ways The message begins with the helpless condition of mankind apart from Jesus. Just as the leper could not cleanse himself and Lazarus could not raise himself from the grave, sinners cannot cure the corruption of their own hearts. Religion can identify the problem, morality can attempt to cover it, and people can try to improve themselves, but only Jesus can cleanse the unclean, give life to the dead, forgive sin, and make a person new. Mankind's greatest problem is not merely social, political, economic, or educational—it is a heart problem that only Christ can remedy. That truth leads directly into Haggai's repeated command: "Consider your ways." Judah had returned from captivity with a clear assignment from God and the resources necessary to rebuild His temple. They began the work, but when opposition came, they stopped. Over time, the delay became a way of life. They continued building, but instead of building what God had assigned, they invested their time, strength, and resources into themselves. They allowed opposition to overrule God's assignment, and busyness replaced obedience to Him and His mission. God then used their circumstances to awaken them. They sowed much but harvested little, ate but were never satisfied, earned wages but seemed to put them into a bag full of holes. Haggai reveals that these frustrations were not meaningless accidents; God was graciously using them to get His people's attention. While not every hardship is the result of disobedience, believers should remain sensitive enough to ask, "Lord, is there something You are trying to show me?" One of the great truths of the message is that God's withholding can sometimes be
