Archives by: Gary Hoag

Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and the whole remnant of the people obeyed the voice of the Lord their God and the message of the prophet Haggai, because the Lord their God had sent him. And the people feared the Lord. Then Haggai, the Lord’s messenger, gave this message of the Lord to the people: “I am with you,” declares the Lord. So the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of the whole remnant of the people. They came and began to work on the house of the Lord Almighty, their God, on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month. Haggai 1:12-15

“How God met them in a way of mercy. The same prophet that brought them the reproof brought them a very comforting encouraging word (v. 13): Then spoke Haggai, the Lord’s messenger, in the Lord’s message, in his name, and as from him, saying, I am with you, saith the Lord. That is all he has to say, and that is enough; as that word of Christ to his disciples is (Mt. 28:20), “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world. I am with you, that is, I will forgive your neglects hitherto, and they shall not be remembered against you; I will remove the judgments you have been under for those neglects, and will appear for you, as I have in them appeared against you. I am with you to protect you against your enemies that bear ill-will to your work, and to prosper you, and to give you success in it—with you to strengthen your hands, and bless the work of them, without which blessing those labour in vain that build.” Note, those that work for God have God with them; and, if he be for us, who can be against us? If he be with us, what difficulty can stand before us?”

Matthew Henry in Haggai 1 – Matthew Henry Bible Commentary.

Notice the progression in only 15 verses.

God alerted the people that they had paneled their own houses but forgotten about His house. They had not used properly all God supplied. So, though Haggai, the prophet, God called them repeatedly to give careful thought to their ways.

Now we see them obey and get to work on God’s house.

We must do the same today. This refers not so much to pouring the resources we steward into a physical building but rather in to God’s building, God’s people. God wants us to use what we have to shift from building a fancy house to building His global Church.

What part will you play?

Even as they marked the day, we can make it today. For me, I have my GTP quarterly board meeting today. We will make decisions that shape the future. We hear the “with you” posture of our God calling us to bold faith as we use His resources to build His Church.

If you want a place to give to build the global Church, make it GTP!

Therefore, because of you the heavens have withheld their dew and the earth its crops. I called for a drought on the fields and the mountains, on the grain, the new wine, the olive oil and everything else the ground produces, on people and livestock, and on all the labor of your hands.” Haggai 1:10-11

“We are dependent upon God for everything, and sometimes He makes use of the ordinary laws of nature to be a chastisement to those who forget Him. If we will not be reminded of Him by His mercies, we shall be reminded by His judgments; and if, as stewards, we do not make a proper use of that which He entrusts to us, He can easily take it all away.”

Charles Haddon Spurgeon in Spurgeon’s Verse Expositions of the Bible.

As I soak in the words of Haggai in light of God’s desire for us to serve as generous stewards, it seems that He will work through the forces of nature, if necessary, to get our attention.

In fear and reverence of His power, let us humble ourselves and be reminded by His mercies so we don’t have to be jolted by His judgments. Let us consider the “proper use” of all we have.

Wealth is not to be stored on earth but in heaven. Riches are not to be stockpiled for ourselves but enjoyed and shared with others. Possessions are not owned for personal purposes, but stewarded for God’s purposes.

Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you. Consider what you have and how you might need to change to make a proper use of all that you have. Follow His leading in humility and generosity.

“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 1:9

“The people had little to show in proportion to the investment of time, energy, and capital… this may refer to the bulk of the grain harvest kept by the worshipper after the first-fruits sacrifices had been made… the context favors the notion of disappointment among the people in the harvest yields that they brought to their own homes. The ambiguity may be intentional, indicating God’s disdain for their sacrificial worship given the ruined condition of the temple precinct, as well as the disappointing reality of how quickly the scanty harvest disappeared when the people brought their portion of crops home.”

Andrew E. Hill in Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi: An Introduction and Commentary (TOTC; Downers Grove: IVP, 2012) 68.

God saw what His people did with the first-fruits. He also sees what we do.

In this text, God expresses disdain and His people experience disappointment because they kept for themselves what God desired for them to return to Him. While times change, circumstances remain the same.

In the days of Haggai (and today), God’s people tend to keep for themselves what belongs to God, and in the process, they (or we) do not experience the anticipated return. What’s the lesson for those who desire to grow in generosity?

Make God’s priorities your first priorities with all He supplies! He sees and will honor your faithful distribution of His resources and provide unfathomable returns rather than disappointment.

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. Haggai 1:7-8

“Once again the prophet calls attention to the fact that it is the Lord who is speaking through the prophetic message. And once again he urges the people to consider their ways. The implication is that proper reflection on their past course of action should lead to a change of behavior for the future.

Now the people are urged to go up to the mountain to secure the necessary timber for construction… It is timber that is emphasized, since the stone also needed for the project was readily available in the immediate environs of Jerusalem… As a result of their efforts, the Lord assures them, He will take pleasure in the rebuilt structure and will be glorified in it.”

Richard A. Taylor in Haggai, Malachi: An Exegetical and Theological Exposition of Holy Scripture (NAC 21; Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 2004) 128-129.

Give and Take. God’s people are to give careful thought amending their ways, and in turn, God promises to take pleasure in their work. This again is not the kind of giving most of us think about.

We tend to think that giving more is better. God wants us to give careful thought to living differently and to take action to show He is our top priority. In this case they were to go get timber.

What might you need to go get to do whatever God is calling you to do? And how might you put to work what you go get to advance His purposes? The good news is that He promises to take pleasure in your actions.

With Haggai, let us “give careful thought to our ways” and know that when we do, the Lord will move us to action and we can rest assured that He will be pleased. What are we waiting for?

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.” This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways.” Haggai 1:3-7

“Haggai is subtly calling the people to share the priorities of David and Solomon. If David felt guilty about living in a “house” before God’s “house” was completed and if Solomon provided a “paneled” house for God before himself, how can they live in paneled homes before the temple was rebuilt? With this rhetorical question still ringing in their ears, the people are now called to consider deeply another issue. The phrase “give careful thought to your ways” is unique to Haggai (1:5, 7, 2:15, 18) and calls for deep reflection over past behavior and experience. This identical phrase is repeated in 1:7 and creates and envelope around the exposure of past experiences.

Verse 6 outlines what the prophet calls the people to consider deeply. The cadence of this verse in the Hebrew text produces a powerful effect beginning with the main verb “you have planted much” and then followed by staccato bursts of infinitives that are captured by the translation, “eaten, but there is no satiety; drunk, but there is no quenching; dressed, but there is no warmth.” the initial scenario refers to the foundation of the economy, which then has an impact on all else in life materially: hunger, thirst, clothing, and wages.”

Mark J. Boda in Haggai, Zechariah (NIVAC; Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004) 90.

I have decided to turn our attention to Haggai for a while. His name means festive or festival. Think Holy day. He wants God’s people to get to work at rebuilding God’s house and opens his oracle with this charge.

My word for the year is “share” and Boda keenly notes that Haggai wants the people to “share the priorities” of David and Solomon. They appear only to care about their own homes while God’s house is a shambles.

Thought this took place around 520 B.C. or over 2,500 years ago, the proclivity or patterns of people remain the same. We tend not to squander money on stuff rather than allocated it toward God’s priorities.

So rather than you tell me what to do or me tell you what to do, let’s sit and soak for five minutes in the charge that bookends the message: “Give careful thought to your ways.”

What needs to change in how you allocate your time, energy, and how you spend money? These decisions impact all of life for you and for those around you: “Give careful thought to your ways.”

Those who choose to share the priorities of David and Solomon and give careful thought to their ways will undoubtedly grow in Christian generosity.

Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. Romans 5:3-5

“I have moved through anguish to freedom, through depression to peace, through despair to hope. It certainly was a time of purification for me. My heart, ever questioning my goodness, value, and worth, has become anchored in a deeper love and thus less dependent on the praise and blame of those around me. It also has grown into a greater ability to give love without always expecting love in return.

None of this happened suddenly. In truth, the weeks and months following my self-imposed exile were so difficult that I wondered at first if anything had changed at all. I tiptoed around my community, always afraid of getting caught again in the old emotional traps.

But gradually, hardly perceptibly, I discovered that I was no longer the person who had left the community in despair. I discovered this not so much in myself but in those who, instead of being embarrassed by what I had gone through, gave me their confidence and trust.

Most of all, I found new confidence in myself through the gradual renewal of the friendship that had triggered my anguish. Never had I dared to believe that this broken relationship could be healed. But as I kept claiming for myself the truth of my freedom as a child of God, endowed with an abundance of love, my obsessive needs melted away and a true mutuality became possible.

This does not mean that there are no longer tensions or conflicts, or that moments of desolation, fear, anger, jealousy, or resentment are completely absent. There is hardly a day without some dark clouds drifting by. But today I recognize them for what they are without putting my head in them!

I have also learned to catch the darkness early, not to allow sadness to grow into depression or let a sense of being rejected develop into a feeling of abandonment. Even in the renewed and deepened friendship, I feel the freedom to point to the little clouds and ask for help in letting them pass by.

What once seemed such a curse has become a blessing. All the agony that threatened to destroy my life now seems like the fertile ground for greater trust, stronger hope, and deeper love.

I am not a young man anymore. Still, I may have quite a few years left to live. Can I live them gracefully and joyfully, continuing to profit from what I learned in my exile? I certainly desire to do so. During my months of anguish, I often wondered if God is real or just a product of my imagination.

I now know that while I felt completely abandoned, God didn’t leave me alone. Many friends and family members have died during the past eight years, and my own death is not so far away. But I have heard the inner voice of love, deeper and stronger than ever. I want to keep trusting in that voice and be led by it beyond the boundaries of my short life, to where God is all in all.”

Henri Nouwen in The Inner Voice of Love: A Journey Through Anguish to Freedom (New York: Image, 1998) 116-118.

This long post marks the conclusion of this book. I also serves as the last in a series of posts that I will do from Henri Nouwen’s writings, at least for now.

Suffering produces hope. We must lean into it. We must give love without expecting anything in return. This adds depth to our generosity in unfathomable ways.

I hope you have been as touchd by this Henri Nouwen exploration as much as I have. I am not sure where I will go starting tomorrow but I am deeper and stronger.

Perhaps you have experienced sadness or loss, hardship or crisis? If so, take heart. Find the blessing in it, and listen for the inner voice of love.

It’s the Spirit which gives us hope and transforms us in the process. It God’s generous gift that accompanies hard times, the last place we’d expect to find it.

All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. John 17:10

“The root choice is to trust at all times that God is with you and will give you what you most need. Your self-rejecting emotions might say, “It isn’t going to work. I’m still suffering the same anguish I did six months ago. I will probably fall back into the old depressive patterns of acting and reacting. I haven’t really changed.” And on and on. It is hard not to listen to these voices. Still, you know that these are not God’s voice. God says to you, “I love you, I am with you, I want to see you come closer to me and experience the joy and peace of my presence. I want to give you a new heart and a new spirit. I want you to speak with my mouth, see with my eyes, hear with my ears, touch with my hands. All that is mine is yours. Just trust me and let me be your God.”

Henri Nouwen in The Inner Voice of Love: A Journey Through Anguish to Freedom (New York: Image, 1998) 113.

Did any of those self-rejecting emotions sound familiar? Perhaps you’ve heard such voices?

Sit and soak in what God says about you.

“I love you, I am with you, I want to see you come closer to me and experience the joy and peace of my presence. I want to give you a new heart and a new spirit. I want you to speak with my mouth, see with my eyes, hear with my ears, touch with my hands. All that is mine is yours. Just trust me and let me be your God.”

Because our God is generous, He will give us what you need most. All we have to do is trust.

God help us trust so we can mirror His generosity and give others what they need most.

For his anger lasts only a brief moment, and his good favor restores one’s life. One may experience sorrow during the night, but joy arrives in the morning. Psalm 30:5

“Joys are hidden in sorrows! I know this from my own times of depression. I know it from my living with people with mental handicaps. I know it from looking into the eyes of patients, and from being with the poorest of the poor. We keep forgetting this truth and become overwhelmed by our own darkness. We easily lose sight of our joys and speak of our sorrows as the only reality there is.

We need to remind each other that the cup of sorrow is also the cup of joy, that precisely what causes us sadness can become the fertile ground for gladness. Indeed, we need to be angels for each other, to give each other strength and consolation. Because only when we fully realize that the cup of life is not only a cup of sorrow but also a cup of joy will we be able to drink it.”

Henri Nouwen in Can You Drink The Cup? (Notre Dame: Ave Maria, 2006) 56.

These words seem to echo in my mind: “give each other strength and consolation”…”give each other strength and consolation.”

If you are like me, it seems like there is depression, poverty, darkness, sadness, and sorrow all around me. It’s hard to know how to respond.

My tendency is either to try to fix things or to try to avoid this cup. I am learning that the cup of sorrow and the cup of joy are the same cup.

I need to drink from it. And, as I go, I am finding that people need the gifts of strength and consolation more than anything, more than ever right now.

God, help us move generously toward those who suffer. Teach us to drink from the cup of sorrow knowing that joy will come in the morning. Amen.

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all. Psalm 34:18-19

“Somehow my life at Daybreak has given me eyes to discover joy where many others see only sorrow. Talking with a homeless man on a Toronto street doesn’t feel so frightening anymore. Soon money is not the main issue. It becomes: “Where are you from? Who are your friends? What is happening in your life?” Eyes meet, hands touch, and there is–yes, often completely unexpected–a smile, a burst of laughter, and a true moment of joy. The sorrow is still there, but something has changed by my no longer standing in front of others by sitting with them and sharing a moment of togetherness.

And the immense suffering of the world? How can there be joy among the dying, the hungry, the prostitutes, the refugees, and the prisoners? How does anyone dare to speak about joy in the face of the unspeakable human sorrows surrounding us? And yet, there is! For anyone who has the courage to enter human sorrows deeply, there is a revelation of joy, hidden like a precious stone in the wall of a dark cave.”

Henri Nouwen in Can You Drink The Cup? (Notre Dame: Ave Maria, 2006) 49-50.

What Jesus had with people like the woman at the well or what Henri had with this homeless man on a Toronto Street is aptly described as a “moment of togetherness.” We serve a God that draws near to us.

When, like our Lord, we draw near to others, especially the brokenhearted and crushed, something happens in us. We discover unspeakable, unexpected, and pure joy.

I wrestle with the knowledge I carry that of so many people who are suffering in this world. I was just talking about this with my brothers at the Pinehurst Bible Study yesterday.

Then I read this hours later. It inspired me to move toward the broken. Engage with them in moments of togetherness, and therein I will find the joy to replace the sorrow.

I am confident I will find Christ there in unimaginable ways. And this relates to generosity because it’s my gift to the person and the joy I receive is God’s gift to me.

But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. John 16:7

“Let me start with your own observation, which you have often made since mother’s death, namely, that she lived her life for others. The more you reflected on her life, looked at her portraits, read her letters, and listened to what others said about her, the more you realized how her whole life was lived in the service of other people. I too am increasingly impressed by her attentiveness to the needs of others. This attitude was so much a part of her that it hardly seems remarkable. Only now can we see its full power and beauty. She rarely asked attention for herself. Her interest and attention went out to the needs and concerns of others. She was open to those who came to her. Many found it easy to talk with her about them- selves and remarked how much at ease they had felt in her presence…

What I want to say now, however, is that she who lived for others also died for others. Her death should not be seen as a sudden end to all her care, as a great halt to her receptivity to others. There are people who experience the death of someone they love as a betrayal. They feel rejected, left alone, and even fooled. They seem to say to their husband, wife, or friend, “How could you do this to me? Why did you leave me behind in this way? I never bargained for this!” Sometimes people even feel angry toward those who die, and express this by a paralyzing grief, by a regression to a state of total dependence, by all sorts of illnesses and complaints, and even by dying themselves.

If, however, mother’s life was indeed a life lived for us, we must be willing to accept her death as a death for us, a death that is not meant to paralyze us, make us totally dependent, or provide an excuse for all sorts of complaints, but a death that should make us stronger, freer, and more mature. To say it even more drastically: we must have the courage to believe that her death was good for us and that she died so that we might live. This is quite a radical viewpoint and it might offend the sensitivities of some people. Why? Because, in fact, I am saying, “It is good for us that she left us, and to the extent that we do not accept this we have not yet fully understood the meaning of her life.” This might sound harsh and even offensive, but I believe deeply that it is true. Indeed, I believe even more deeply that we will come to experience this ourselves.”

Henri Nouwen in A Letter of Consolation (New York: HarperOne, 2009) 54-57. Let me know if you want this PDF. It’s a must-read for those who mourn or are struggling with difficult circumstances in life. It’s also a must-share for anyone you sense needing consolation.

I have a friend whose health is declining. Death may be near. Today I felt filled with peace after reading this that if and when he passes, though I dread the day, it will be a good day. Good because he lived for me and because, crazy as it sounds, he died for me.

Think about that for a minute. It’s the ultimate act of generosity.

We have people in our lives that teach us things. Then they give us more responsibility. Soon they delegate authority. And just when we want them to stay around forever, they hand us the proverbial baton. And when they depart in death we discover the gift of their life. Absence teachings us this.

They gave their lives to serve us. Then they died so we might live.

I am not being morbid here but entirely serious. And ponder the place of the dying person. What gift will you give those you serve? Will you become increasingly selfish and store up wealth for yourself like the rich fool or radically generous like the poor widow?

Remember whose giving Jesus called “foolish” and whose giving He celebrated as good.