"While you’ve run around, caught up with taking care of your own houses, my Home is in ruins." Haggai 1:9
We are twelve days away from Rosh Hashanah 5781, and three weeks to the holiest day of the year, Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement, which will be followed by the most joyous feast: Feast of Tabernacle.
I don't know about you, but even as I am writing this, I am just filled with holy anticipation and deep awe of Abba, Jesus, and Holy Spirit. I sense in my spirit that this year the significance of these events is tenfold.
A few weeks ago, He showed me a picture of a scale, and spoke to me what's in His heart. I wrote it in a blog, please go and read it. But the LORD wants us to prepare and not to be ignorant. Something has shifted in the spiritual realm and He's calling His people to prepare and get ready for trying time that will come soon.
This is not the time to continue to be busy with your life, drinking, eating, like nothing happens as in the days of Noah. This is the time to sanctify ourselves and draw even nearer to Abba.
The King is in the field
According to Hebrew calendar, we are in the month of Elul, known also as the last month of the Jewish year. It's time when Jewish people prepare themselves before the upcoming high days: Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Feast of Tabernacles.
But here's another interesting thing about Elul. It's the month where the Jewish people believe that the King (God) has left the palace and come out to the fields where anyone can approach him. The king receives them all with a smiling face and a radiant countenance. The peasant behind his plow has access to the king in a manner unavailable to the highest ranking minister in the royal court when the king is in the palace.
You see, the king's usual place is in the capital city, in the royal place. Anyone wishing to approach the king must go through the appropriate channels in the palace bureaucracy and gain the approval of a succession of secretaries and ministers. He must journey to the capital and pass through the many gates, corridors, and antechambers that lead to the throne room.
His presentation must be meticulously prepared, and he must adhere to an exacting code of dress, speech, and mannerism upon entering into the royal presence. But now in the month of Elul, all these protocols are being put aside because the King is not in the palace, but rather in the field to be with His people.
Isn't that beautiful?
I can attest this from my own experience. Every morning I always seek Abba and would normally find Him in the palace (in Heaven), but since Elul started and up to one week into Elul, I couldn't find Him there. I was really downcast and I was really soul searching to see if I did anything that grieved Him - of course that's not the right basis of how we should look at our relationship with the One who is perfect love. But I love Him so much that I really care not to grieve Him.
And that evening on 7 Elul, I was led to a short video titling "Elul: the King is in the field" randomly. the thing is I knew years ago about Elul and what it meant, but I have forgotten. When I listened to the video, the Spirit bore witness in me and I went almost in tears, relieved and saying, "No wonder I couldn't find you in the palace, Abba!"
We need to build His house
After my understanding about the season we're in being heightened, I asked the Holy Spirit how I should really prepare for the high days that are coming. And He led me to a passage in the book of Haggai:
On the first day of the sixth month of the second year in the reign of King Darius of Persia, God’s Message was delivered by the prophet Haggai to the governor of Judah, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and to the high priest, Joshua son of Jehozadak:
A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies: “The people procrastinate. They say this isn’t the right time to rebuild my Temple, the Temple of God.”
Shortly after that, God said more and Haggai spoke it: “How is it that it’s the ‘right time’ for you to live in your fine new homes while the Home, God’s Temple, is in ruins?”
And then a little later, God-of-the-Angel-Armies spoke out again:
“Take a good, hard look at your life. Think it over. You have spent a lot of money, but you haven’t much to show for it. You keep filling your plates, but you never get filled up. You keep drinking and drinking and drinking, but you’re always thirsty. You put on layer after layer of clothes, but you can’t get warm. And the people who work for you, what are they getting out of it? Not much— a leaky, rusted-out bucket, that’s what.
That’s why God-of-the-Angel-Armies said:
“Take a good, hard look at your life. Think it over.”
Then God said:
“Here’s what I want you to do: Climb into the hills and cut some timber. Bring it down and rebuild the Temple. Do it just for me. Honor me. You’ve had great ambitions for yourselves, but nothing has come of it. The little you have brought to my Temple I’ve blown away—there was nothing to it.
“And why?” (This is a Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies, remember.) “Because while you’ve run around, caught up with taking care of your own houses, my Home is in ruins. That’s why. Because of your stinginess. And so I’ve given you a dry summer and a skimpy crop. I’ve matched your tight-fisted stinginess by decreeing a season of drought, drying up fields and hills, withering gardens and orchards, stunting vegetables and fruit. Nothing—not man or woman, not animal or crop—is going to thrive.”
Then the governor, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and the high priest, Joshua son of Jehozadak, and all the people with them listened, really listened, to the voice of their God. When God sent the prophet Haggai to them, they paid attention to him. In listening to Haggai, they honored God.
Then Haggai, God’s messenger, preached God’s Message to the people: “I am with you!” God’s Word.
This is how God got Zerubbabel, Joshua, and all the people moving—got them working on the Temple of God-of-the-Angel-Armies. This happened on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month in the second year of King Darius.
How is this relevant to us today? Is God asking us to build a temple for Him? Well, no and yes. No, not in a physical building. Yes, as in we are supposed to be His house, His dwelling place. Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3:16
Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
How are we supposed to build ourselves to be His house then?
I asked the Holy Spirit that question and He answered gently, "By spending time with Me and in My Word."
That's all.
Not complicated right? But for most of us, it's not an easy thing to do because we are so busy with so many other things: work, family, business, even ministries.
Yet only one thing is needed and it will not be taken away. Remember that wise saying of our Messiah when He told that to Martha who rebuked her sister for sitting at Jesus' feet while she was busy making sandwich that Jesus didn't order? (modern day interpretation)
I KNOW what busy can mean. I have a high profile, high demanding job, managing a team in a large cooperation, while I still have to serve my family and take care of the house, cook all our meals, running this ministry - all in one day's work. For quite some time I asked Abba if He can release me from my job so I can spend more time with Him, but He told me that my destiny is tied to my job, so the answer is pretty obvious.
Prune your life
What's the solution then?
Well, for me, it's not cold turkey solution, it's progressive. I started this journey of really building real, closer relationship with Abba since the beginning of this year. And along the way, I realise the more I spend time with Him, the more I need to spend more time with Him. One hour in the morning becomes two, one sermon a day becomes three to four. So something has to give.
I started to find areas where I can cut down stuffs to find more time with Him. Prioritising is the the keyword. I stopped watching TV (you can never even pay me to watch any drama series, it's such a time-waster!), I cut my eating time from three times to two, reaping the benefits of intermittent fasting at the same time, and I cut down unnecessary chit-chating.
Over time, my life has become so disciplined and I have greater appreciation of time, making sure I spend it well and wisely. I feel like Abba is sharpening me to be the queen He wants me to be.
But even all that is still not enough for me to really prepare for this season. So I am taking leave from work this coming week with primary reason to really dedicate myself, my time, my attention for Abba - reading His word, listening to His voice, meditating, worshipping. I have done this for a few times - taking dedicated week to enter a week of Sabbath. I think it's so important and necessary we do this.
However you want to do it, just make sure you cut down the "noise" in your life and seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. Don't be so busy working to get money or even serving in the name of ministry, our ministry should be first and foremost listening to Him at His feet.
If there are areas in your life or your family or your finance that is "leaking", read Haggai and consider your ways - perhaps you are too busy building your own house that you neglect His house?