The Time is Right for Rebuilding
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… I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of hosts… The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts. (Haggai 2.4-9)
Haggai prophesied in the time when many people were in exile and much of the temple was in ruins. Instead of giving up, Haggai called the people to rebuild.
After they had started the work, the people looked on their humble efforts and remembered how magnificent the temple had been before. It seemed to them that their efforts were useless, and they wanted to give up. But God saw things differently. God told them to not fear, but to work. He was with them. His Spirit remained in their midst. The glory of the Lord would shine brighter in this newer, revived temple than it had ever shined before. God told them if they would continue in faith to rebuild the place and practice of worship, “from this day on I will bless you” (2.19).
The time is always right for revival! The time is always right to work with confidence and recognize that the Spirit is in the midst of the church!
What about you? Did you once have a fiery, passionate love for Jesus that has grown cold? Do you despair that you could ever get it back? You can! God’s Spirit is with you! Work to rebuild the house of the Lord within. The time is always right for revival! Let us work to see revival in our hearts, in our churches, in our generation. “From this day on, I will bless you.”
With David of old, O Lord, I pray: "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit." Amen. (Psalm 51.10-12)