This morning God is emphasizing the point of this year’s resolution I’ve made to Him. This resolution had to do with surrendering my will to Him daily and obeying His nudges quickly. I’m realizing that obeying God’s nudges have to do with moving forward in what seems difficult times as well as withholding oneself when you want to act on something but God is not wanting you to do so at the time. This was all emphasized in this morning’s Bible reading of the book Haggai.

Haggai is another minor prophet at the time the Israelites had moved back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. They had been there 18 years and all they’d done is build their own homes and reestablish their farms and work. The temple had yet to be touched yet that is what God had brought them back to do. God wasn’t blessing their crops and the fruit of the crops and Haggai told them why.

Today I return to my work with schools. It is never as easy to return to work in the dead of winter as it is in the light of summer and fall. The dismal days do something to the psyche deadening motivation. As I journaled this today God reminded me that I am doing this work not for me but for Him. I wrestled with God before I took this assignment 1.5 years ago. He reminded me that His nudges come from the steadfast God who never changes. The same God who had nudged Haggai to give the Israelites their message of disobedience to Him is the One nudging me to be daily surrendered and obedient to Him.

The temple God had the Israelites rebuilding was one of earthly material. Joyce Meyer reminds me that the temple God is restoring in you and me is within us. It is the temple of God’s Holy Spirit He placed in us when we asked Christ to come into our lives. We cleanse this temple more fully each time we surrender and obey. These are fleshly acts which have spiritual purpose. How much I have to grow and learn and how much I love this patient Teacher we have–Jesus Christ through His Holy Spirit.