Thirsty Thursday: Haggai 1:6-9

“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.” This is what the LORD Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. 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. “You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?” declares the LORD Almighty. “Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house.” Haggai 1:6-9

 

Possibly, you’ve been married a year, maybe 20. In either case, have you felt you planted much while harvested little?

There was a time we lived with extended family because we couldn’t afford to do so on our own. It was trying for all involved. During that time, I never recall waking up thanking God for a nice warm shelter for our family nor for the ones willing to have us. All I could think about was having a place of our own while bitter with myself and my husband for being in that position.

To look back now, I couldn’t be more grateful for the provision through God and family that got us through.

For several years, I was so caught up building our home based around the things of this world, rather than building our home for the Lord. I didn’t care if my husband loved God as much as I was concerned if he loved me. My version of being a Christian was based on that making me a good person and believing my circumstances would change if I kept claiming God would help us.

We thought we could turn our hard hearts soft by the “More” aspect.We live in a more kind of world. If we make more money and can have nicer things, we will be happy. If we can go from eating Ramen Noodles to meat meals cooked on the grill, we will then be satisfied. We thought we would be happy once living on our own rather than in the home of someone else.

Just as the verse said, “what you have brought home, I blew away.” That’s what it felt like. God has never allowed my husband or I to become fixated on “things” creating happiness: money, food, materials. He is constantly convicting and showing us it is not that which builds a loving home. My husband has been known many times to become greatly discouraged by working so hard, and having so little harvest. I keep bringing him back to today’s verse.

“If my husband were more loving then….more giving then…more considerate then…” More. More. More.

There is always room for more. But what are we doing with what we have been given?

Dear friend, may it begin with you and I shedding light in this area of our marriages that our husbands be moved by the shift of satisfaction in our hearts.When I began to accept where we were and find praises in Him for even the simplest of things, my heart shifted.

“Thank you Jesus, for bringing my husband home from work (even if he is grouchy.) Thank you for double servings of pinto beans and cornbread to fill the bellies of my family (even if it’s not a feast of grilled meat and veggies). Thank you for healthy kids (even if they have shown great defiance today).”

Once my heart shifted, our circumstances began to shift. I wasn’t building our home to honor myself anymore, but to honor my Lord and Savior.

The greatest shift in my heart that brought the greatest freedom in our marriage? I released all the “more” I yearned for in my husband’s love for me to the “more” I yearned for in his heart for the Lord. Do wives yearn to be loved well by their spouse? Of course. Sometimes, obsessively. A little hope for your soul: he isn’t even capable of loving you in a Christ-like way until Christ becomes the ultimate Mentor and Love of his life. So let him off the hook a little, and get on your knees, sweet friend. He is worth the fight in prayer.

God desires to gives us more. I have witnessed that now. The kind of more we don’t deserve. But only when we stop trying to rebuild the house he keeps blowing away and instead, build our homes in the honor of Him will we reap the more our King has in store.