Shepherd's Corner (November 19th, 2025)
- Brian Lee
- Nov 20
- 3 min read
When God Rearranges Our Priorities and Encourages Our Hearts
(Based on Haggai, this week’s reading and meditation)
“Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the LORD. Be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the LORD. Work, for I am with you, declares the LORD of hosts, according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not.” (Haggai 2:4–5, ESV)
This week in Haggai, we found ourselves standing among a weary people who had returned from exile with great anticipation. Their hearts were full of joy when they first saw their homeland again. They laid the foundation of the temple with excitement. Yet as the years passed, opposition rose, daily life demanded their attention, and the work of the Temple silently slipped into the background. They were not actively rebellious. They were simply distracted, just like many of us.
The Lord speaks into that spiritual drift with surprising gentleness. He names the hidden posture of their hearts:
“This people says the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the LORD” (Haggai 1:2).
It is the familiar voice of postponement. “Yes, Lord… but later.”
Into that postponement, God says,
“Now, therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways.” (Haggai 1:5).
He repeats it:
“Thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways.” (Haggai 1:7).
The Hebrew word for “consider” suggests placing one’s heart upon something, pausing long enough to look honestly at what your life is quietly becoming. It is not a scolding. It is an invitation.
Then God paints a picture of their frustration:
“You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes.” (Haggai 1:6).
These are not punishments. They are gracious wake-up calls. God allows their efforts to fall short so they might notice that they are building everything except the one thing that brings real life. They were neglecting their heart, the “temple.”
Some were not helping because they kept comparing their efforts to Solomon’s golden temple. Compared to that, the one before them made their efforts feel small. We understand this well. We take steps of faith, but the results look modest. We pray, but feel weak. We serve, but the fruit seems slow. This is when we need faith.
God meets their discouragement with the tenderness of a Father.
“Be strong… Work, for I am with you… My Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not.” (Haggai 2:4–5).
Their comfort is not in the size or the numbers, but the presence of God. The work counts because God’s presence is in it.
What does this all mean for us today? Perhaps it is simply this: there are moments when God gently interrupts our routines and asks us to “consider our ways.” He does this not to shame us, but to realign us. He calls us to notice where our hearts have drifted, where our priorities have subtly rearranged themselves, and where we have poured energy into things that leave us strangely empty.
He also encourages us. He stirs our hearts. He reminds us that even our small acts of obedience matter because He is with us.
May this week be a time to pause, to notice, and to respond. How would our lives change if we were to let God lovingly rearrange our hearts? Let us fear not. He is with us!
In His Grace Alone,
Pastor Brian Lee
