Messengers

 

Then Haggai, the messenger of the LORD, spoke to the people with the LORD’s message,                            “I am with you, declares the LORD.” Haggai 1:13

 

How much do you and I trust God?

How much do we trust the Holy Spirit living in us, as Christians, to assure us of the truth of what we hear…especially if what we hear is to go and tell someone else what God’s Word says about something?

In the book of Ezra, Zerubbabel had led a group of men from Judah back to Jerusalem from the exile in Babylon. They returned to rebuild the Temple.  Ezra 4:4 says, “Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah and made them afraid to build.” Ezra 5:1 tells about Haggai and Zechariah going to Jerusalem to encourage these same men, “in the name of the God of Israel”, to continue to build until the work was finished.

God had sent these prophets to encourage His people to continue to do the work without fear of the “people of the land.” They were deliberately frustrating their efforts to accomplish the building. They received the message and the men went back to work on the Temple until it was completed.

Does God still work like this?

I remember staying with my twin sister when she had just gotten home from her first surgery for pancreatic cancer. She had understood from God that she was to “thank Him and praise Him” as she went through this illness. A couple of days after she was home a man called and asked if he could come visit. It was an acquaintance from her work in a school district. He had a message from God.  Sound crazy?

I wrote about it at the time (http://www.bethbingaman.com/the-man-who-obeyed-god/) .  I remember being overwhelmed with gratitude to God for being so loving and encouraging to my sister in her time of need. This week, as I studied Ezra, I was amazed at God’s desire to communicate with us.

We are sinful and often reluctant to communicate with Him. Yet, He continues to send messengers to us.

God communicates to us through His Word (written or spoken). He can, and often does, speak to us in our spirit. But, does He still send messengers? He did in November of 2011.

The reason I asked if we trust God is because I wonder how many of us would question the message or refuse to deliver a message if we were prompted by God to do so. Are we so insecure in our relationship with Him that we question when He speaks to us?

My sister received the message God sent with joy. It was delivered by a humble man who feared the Lord, at a time when she needed the assurance.  What grace! It is a gift that she would have been denied had the messenger refused to obey God.

The man who visited my sister brought a message of assurance and hope. Haggai and Zechariah delivered a message to encourage strength.

When we read God’s Word, do we recognize that His prophets are still speaking to us today. They have the same message: “Continue to do the work without fear of the ‘people of the land.'” What message do you (and I) have to deliver to whom?