Sunday Devotion

Welcome to the Sunday morning devotion.  Our theme today is “Have Courage” and our scripture reference is from Haggi. This reference is basically the story of the Jews who were banished to Babylon returning to Judea.  They want to restore the temple that was trashed by the Babylonians, but resources were scarce, and the people put off restoring the temple.  Eventually God lets the people know that it is time to stop procrastinating and get on with rebuilding the temple.  However, the people are still reluctant to do the renovations.  Their hearts were not in it and resources remained scarce. 
 
Have you ever put off doing something which you knew needed done because you were uncomfortable and didn’t think you had the resources to do it.  I have.  There was a time not too long ago that I knew it was time to relocate, sell my house and begin a whole new chapter in my life.  I kept putting it off. I felt that my life was over and not worth moving on.  Eventually, with the help of my family and my church family I began to move forward.  God paved the way for me to sell my home and find a new place to live. It’s not the same but it is fine for my needs. 
 
I found the courage to move forward as did the people of Israel.  The temple that they built was not as glamorous as Solomon’s temple, but it was good in God’s eyes.  They knew that God had not deserted them and loved them for their efforts.
 
There are going to be many times in life when we have to do that which is scary and uncomfortable, and it will take courage - the courage that comes from a close relationship with God.  God can do marvelous things and he wants to walk with each of us as we move into new territory.
 
As we go into this next week with a national election, may we use the courage that God shares with us to vote with confidence and courage.
 
Author: Kathy Wolfe