When God allows hard things to happen in our life, it is for us to consider our ways.
“Thus saith the LORD of hosts; consider your ways.” Haggai 1: 7
The contrary, new teaching of dismissing our deep troubles, and then bulldozing ahead, is not right. “Just go forward — do not lay these troubles to heart — get on with your life;” are the ill advice given.
But we are not to excuse our trouble and to bury it quickly; we are to be humbled and to consider our ways before the LORD.
We are to pray and listen to God’s wisdom on how to walk closer to Him and to repent of our sinful ways.
The Biblical prophet Haggai admonished the Jews who had come back from Babylon. The people said it was not time to finish building the temple which they had started a number of years before.
“Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your ceiled houses, and this house lie waste?” Haggai 1: 4
“Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.” v.5
Read about all their troubles — sound familiar?
“Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; … ye clothe you, but there is none warm, and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes. v.6
“Ye looked for much… and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? Saith the LORD of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house. v.9
“Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit. v.10
“And I called for a drought upon the land… and upon cattle, and upon all the labor of the hands. -from v. 11
This is TROUBLE!
When we have any level of trouble — we need to fervently and quickly consider our ways. It is plain, clear logic in spending time thinking about why God has allowed this unhappy trouble in my life — and to ask God about it.
What is the problem — I need to do my part to fix it!
I must humble myself, spend time praying — asking God to show me the reason for these great troubles in my life.
The incorrect devilish new teaching of handling personal trouble is to cover the trouble and its meaning, and to turn the shoulder, and to defiantly walk on — continuing on the downward path.
I need to wake-up! I must not continue to go on like I am the one in control! God loves and wants the best for us — He wants to have His way with us.
Such troubles are meant to bring me to my knees — to bring me to confess my sins before the holy God of creation –, or the trouble will bring me to ruin in this life and will be my ruin for eternity.
Awaken — let God speak to you. Make peace with your Creator — and do what He says. This is the only logical, safe and happy way to go on in life.