If you are feeling like there is some unfinished work in your life, something you have been wanting to do, needing to do, or even dreaming of doing, I have four words for you to consider. The Time Is Now. There was a moment in my life when I felt this way and God said something similar to me and it changed my life. I was working as a manager of a movie theater in South Bend, IN, and life was good. I was making good money, liked my job, had good friends, and I was close to my family. I was honestly just enjoying my life. I got to watch all the movies I wanted for free and eat as much free popcorn as I could.
I had been working there for a few years but all through college I had thought I would be involved in some kind of ministry. I didn’t think this ministry involved a local church or going to seminary, but I thought I would be doing something more than showing the latest movies and popping up bags of popcorn. Then in the summer of 1989 came the movie Dead Poets Society. In the movie, Robin Williams plays Professor Keating who encourages the boys in his English class to follow their own path and make the most of their lives. If you have seen the movie, you might remember these two words that Prof. Keating used over and over again. Carpe Diem, which means, Seize the Day.
God used those two words to cause me to reflect on my life and consider if I was doing what God wanted me to do. After several months of reflection and searching, I quit my job and started on a journey that led me to California, then Connecticut, then finally North Carolina and Duke Divinity School. After graduating from Duke, I was appointed as a pastor in Altoona, PA. I was now actively and intentionally involved in ministry.
Whether it is two words, Carpe Diem, or three words, Seize the Day, or four words, The Time is Now, I pray that over the next few weeks you will reflect on your life and consider if God has something more for you. It may not be quitting your job, uprooting your family, or starting a new career, but it may be something just as profound and transformational.
If you have some unfinished business, an unfulfilled dream, or a goal you have set aside, or if you are just looking for deeper faith and greater purpose, I would invite you to consider if God is saying to you, The Time Is Now, to do something.
We are going to be learning some lessons found in the Old Testament book of Haggai because God told the people of Israel that the time is now for them to return to the work of God. Haggai is one of the Minor Prophets, which is a collection of shorter books found at the end of the Old Testament. At a whopping 2 chapters, you might want to read it all this week, and if you go looking for it, you will find it between Zephaniah and Zechariah.
Before we look at what God says through this prophet, we need to know the backstory. King Solomon was the son of David and he was the one who built the temple in Jerusalem. The temple was magnificent. People from all over the world came to see it and Jews would come from all over the world to worship there. After Solomon died, the nation of Israel divided and the people slowly turned away from God and started to worship idols. In 587 BC, King Nebuchadnezzar led the Babylonians against Israel and destroyed not only the city of Jerusalem but the Temple as well.
If you remember from our Daniel series earlier this year, the Jewish people were taken into captivity and scattered throughout the Babylonian empire for 50 years. Then in 538, they were allowed to return to Jerusalem and begin to rebuild the Temple. The people returned and built the foundation of the Temple and the altar, but then they started to get harassed by the people around them. They persecuted God’s people and made it difficult to work, so they stopped. For 14 years no work was done on God’s house and the people spent all their time, energy, and money on their houses.
It’s interesting that when the people of Israel found building the temple difficult, they took it as a sign that building the temple must not be God’s will. Why is it that we think God’s will should always be easy? Why do we take challenges as a sign that God is against us instead of thinking that it might be the world that is against us, and that God is still for us, He’s just asking us to work harder? The truth is that doing the right thing, the faithful thing, and the Godly thing is often hard. At times we need to choose the HARD RIGHT and not the EASY WRONG.
The hard right is choosing to forgive someone when they have hurt us. It’s trying to reconcile a relationship that has been broken and being the first one to reach out. The hard right is getting healthy and caring for our bodies as if they truly are the temple of the Lord. The hard right is to get out of debt and live within our means so that we can financially bless others. The hard right is to put God first in all things. These are all hard things that are right.
The easy wrong is to hold onto a grudge, lay on the couch all day eating chips and watching TV, and spending beyond our means knowing that we will pay it off in time… maybe. The easy wrong is to put our own wants and needs first and then think about following God and helping others. The hard right is often difficult and following God is often the hard right thing to do. So if the time is now to do what God is asking us to do, we have to be prepared for it to be difficult. We have to be ready to take a hard right.
What is the hard right that God is asking you to consider? Is it to get healthy or improve a relationship? Is it to get your financial house in order, or grow closer to God? Is it to step out in some new way to love God, or serve God, or serve others? If God is saying to you, The Time Is Now, then God is going to give you some direction through the prophet Haggai. Haggai 1:2-6
This is what the Lord Almighty says: “These people say, ‘The time has not yet come to rebuild the Lord’s house.’”
Then the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai: “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?”
Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.”
God was asking the people to consider how they had been living. What had been their focus? What had been their priority these past 14 years? What they had been focused on was themselves. They had been building their own homes, and meeting their own needs, while neglecting the house of God. They had put themselves first and God asked them, how’s that working out for you? God says, you are working hard but never have enough. You are working hard but never seem to be satisfied, or fulfilled.
Too often that’s what happens when we take the easy road and put ourselves first. We are never satisfied or fulfilled. That’s how I felt working at the theater. I had a good job, good friends, and a good life, but I was not satisfied. If you are thinking there should be more to life, and more to your faith, then hear what God said to Israel, the time is now to reorder your life. The time is now to prioritize your faith. The time is now to finish those things that God says need to be finished.
If we are thinking that the time is now to get moving, God makes the process simple. It’s not easy, doing what God asks us to do is not always easy, it’s often the hard right, but honestly, it can be simple. For Israel, God made it simple. Haggai 1:8 Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build my house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored,” says the Lord.
The unfinished work of the Temple wasn’t rocket science for the people, it involved:
1. going up the mountain
2. bringing down timber
3. building the house
They had to start. They had to leave their homes and go up the mountain. Of course this did mean getting up off their couches and actually walking up into the mountains. After having been in Israel, I can tell you, the mountains there are steep! Going up into the mountains wasn’t easy, but it was right and this would get them started. Then they had to cut down trees. Again, not difficult to figure out how to do it, but it is hard work. Then they had to build the house. They had the plans for the Temple, they knew what to do, they just had to do the work. Step 1, 2, 3. Don’t worry about the rest, don’t worry about how to finish the project - just start.
I had a roommate in seminary who had to write a paper for his graduation and he spent days figuring out how to write it. He first decided to dictate his paper then transcribe it. I told him to just start the paper. Then he decided to write out all his quotes on index cards and place them all in order and then write it. I told him, just start the paper. He then came up with two other methods for organizing and writing the paper, and again I told him, just write the paper! He spent more time figuring out how to write the paper then he did writing the paper. The time is now to just start. Go up into the mountains. Bring down the timber. Build the house.
We don’t have to have every detail figured out before we start - we just have to start. I have shared this many times but it’s easier to steer a moving car than a parked car. Actually, you can’t steer a parked car. God can’t guide us and lead us and bless us until we are willing to move and that’s step one. Go up the mountain. Start.
What is it that you need to start today? Don’t worry about how it will get finished, just worry about how to start. What unfinished work do you have in your life? What relationship needs to be healed, what dream needs to be fulfilled, what God-given gift do you need to use, and how is God asking you to go deeper in life, and faith? The time is now – to start. Ask for some assistance, ask someone to go with you, but just start. The time is now for all of us to take the next faithful step with God. Go up the mountain, bring down the timber, and build the house - God’s house.
Next Steps
The Time Is Now - Taking a Hard Right
To understand the backstory to Haggai, read Ezra 1-4.
When have you taken a Hard Right over an Easy Wrong?
When have you taken an Easy Wrong over a Hard Right?
● What was the outcome of each?
For 14 years, Israel stopped building the Temple of God because it was difficult and they faced opposition.
● What have you stopped doing in life and faith because it got difficult or you faced opposition?
What are your greatest barriers to a deeper faith and following God’s will?
● Where have you put your will over God’s will? Your desires over God’s desires?
God gave Israel three steps
1. Go up the mountain
2. Bring down timber
3. Build the house
What might these steps look like in your life as you move forward with God?
What new habit can you start this week to help you prioritize your faith?
How can you serve God or others this week so that you are no longer placing yourself first in all things? Can you make this service an ongoing part of your life?
Who can help you keep going in this new direction? Ask them for help, assistance, guidance, and prayer.
