It's All About the Follow Through

I'm a proud soccer dad.  My daughter's team just won their league tournament, and they did it the hard way.  It was a double elimination bracket, and they lost their first game of the day.  But then they gutted out five straight wins, including two in a row over a well-rested team that had only played two games before the final round.  Our kids were exhausted, but they didn't give up… and it paid off.  I give a lot of credit to their coach, Lenny, who is always preaching "follow-thru."  "Kick though the ball!"  "Run all the way to the net!"  "Never give up on a play!"  "Go till the final whistle!"

I think the prophet Haggai was bit like coach Lenny.  He arrived on the scene in Jerusalem in the middle of a stalled project.  His message was simple: "Get your priorities straight, and get the job done."  Many of the Jews formerly exiled to Babylon had returned to their homeland and begun rebuilding the temple.  But after several years, all they had to show was a foundation and an altar.

Haggai called the people to "give careful thought" to the situation (1:5, 1:7, 2:15, 2:18) and understand that their procrastination was not only disappointing to God but also a symptom of a deeper problem – failure to maintain proper priorities.  Their focus had shifted to the comforts of life rather than commitment to the Lord.  As a result, they failed to follow through and were missing out on the many blessings God wanted to pour out on them (1:3-11).

Sometimes I'm amazed at how easily I'm persuaded to procrastinate and how often I fail to follow through in my relationship to God and ministry for Him.  It doesn't even take exhaustion and blisters (see soccer reference!) or opposition and persecution (see Ezra chapter 4).  It just takes a turn of the head toward my own personal comfort and convenience.  Next thing I know, I'm jogging instead of sprinting, pulling up short on my runs to the goal, and missing out on the potential celebration of "scoring and winning" for the Lord.

So let's suck it up, listen to coach Haggai, get our priorities straight, and follow through for God!  GOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAALLLL!!!