Problems That I Want - Part I

Problems That I Want – Part I

 

Problems That I Want - Haggai 2:1-9 - Part I  - Edwin Hawkins, the Grammy award winning Gospel recording artist, wrote a song entitled, “Be Grateful.”  The lyrics say, “Be grateful because there is someone who is worse off than you.”  Have you ever considered the fact that someone else would welcome your problems and complaints?  When you become resentful about the mortgage payments, do you consider the number of people who have been recently denied?  When you complain about your car, do you think about the people who desperately need a car, any car?  As it relates to your job, when tempted to grumble about being overworked and under paid, do you consider the hundreds of thousands of people who are out of work with stacks of bills growing higher?  Our complaints about the color schemes of our houses, the mileage on our cars and the habits of our colleagues are all problems that someone else wants.

We tend to complain in the midst of both change and complacency.  In the former instance, we do not like making the necessary adjustments.  We prefer to leave things the way that they were.  “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!”  “We like it just the way it is/was.”  “Let the good old days last forever because nothing can top them anyway.”  In the latter instance, we stubbornly resist change due to fear of the unknown.  We see any change as a nuisance.  Admittedly, change creates challenges.  In the eyes of faith, problems are new possibilities.  Change presents to us a new set of problems that we should want.

As we grow in faith, we desire additional and greater challenges that will foster more greatly the character of the Lord Jesus Christ within us.  There are “problems that I want.”  Do you want the problem of having so much money left over at the end of the month that you must fast and pray about the ministries and charities to which you will give it?  How about the problem in which you demonstrate the Christian life with integrity and faithfulness to cause the people around you to ask for godly counsel?  What about the possibility of excelling in what you do so that you receive three or four job offers?  What about the challenge of helping your child to turn that one B+ into an A- because all the other grades are As?  What about the hurdle of beating your spouse home to make dinner because you have recently experienced such a renaissance in your marriage that you’re courting each other again?  Are there not problems that you want? 

Problems in the Text - Haggai 2:1-9 - The prophet asks a provocative and penetrating question of the people.  “Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory?”  “How does it look to you now?”  “Does it not seem to you like nothing?”  The people of Israel are witnessing the laying of the foundation of the second temple.  Understandably, those who remember Solomon’s temple fall prey to the easy temptation of cynicism about rebuilding the temple.  “It will never equal the glory and splendor of Solomon’s temple.”  “You can never rebuild a facility with that beauty and majesty.”  “After all, Solomon’s temple was one of the wonders of the ancient world.”  They recall the glorious worship and dedication.  They remember the countless Passover observances in which innumerable people flooded into Jerusalem to worship in the great and glorious temple.  They conclude that the rebuilding project is absolutely worthless.  They feel the affliction of attempting to surpass the glory days.  In their thinking, the problems greatly surpass the possibilities.  The challenge of rebuilding seems insurmountable.  They despair, lament, and complain.  In response to their fear, frustration and hopelessness, the Lord encourages them.   “But now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the Lord.  Be strong, O Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest.  Be strong, all of you people of the land, declares the Lord.”

Secondly, the Lord tells them to work.  Work into their problems so that they may resolve them with His grace and guidance.  Often we want to make the “right decision.”  Usually, that means that we desire full knowledge of all of our choices.  Then, we believe that we can make the right decision.  Yet, we generally end up making the best decision that we can given the information that we have.  Of course, we should pray and seek divine counsel as well as that of godly people whose walk with the Lord evidences maturity and wisdom.  Nonetheless, when we live into our decisions endeavoring to make the most out of any opportunities, they become the “right decision.”  In a sense, we can never really know if a choice will be the right one in advance.  Yet, with God’s favor, we can make a better decision as we offer it to Him; ask for His guidance and use the decision to honor and glorify Him.

“And work.  For I am with you, declares the Lord Almighty.  This is what I covenanted with you when came out of Egypt.  And my Spirit remains among you.  Do not fear.”  God alludes to the covenant that He made with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David and Solomon.  This is a centuries-old promise God makes on the basis of His character.  Although the people experienced the grave disappointment of captivity and exile, God returns them to Israel for the rebuilding of the Temple and their nation.  In essence, the challenge and work of rebuilding should be a problem that they should want.  Similarly, I again ask you to consider whether the problems that you have reasonably fall with this category?