Not many of us have a prophet by our side interpreting the seasons for us. We don’t have someone linking together for us an under-performing harvest with our failure to have put first things first. We don’t have someone connecting the dots between a lack of fruit for our efforts with a lack of focus on God’s commands. Nobody to point out, “Your home is looking pretty fine after all your reno work but did you notice the Lord’s house remains in ruins? That’s why ‘you have planted much but harvested little.'”.

So no, we don’t have a prophet interpreting for us the signs and times and how they may be related to our sin and failure. But we have the prophet’s words preserved. Inspired words. God-breathed words. And we have the breath of God, the Holy Spirit, present within us — His Spirit hard-wired to our spirit. And so, while we don’t have an audible prophet, we do have an internal Teacher and Revealer of truth.

I’m reading Haggai this morning and can’t help but think of how timely it is. I’m not a New Year’s resolution sort of person, but I am an end of year reflection and renewal sort of person. That’s why I think the prophet’s words which echo throughout the book resonate so deeply within my heart. Think carefully about your ways.

The word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai: “Is it a time for you yourselves to live in your paneled houses, while [the house of the LORD] lies in ruins?” Now, the LORD of Armies says this: “Think carefully about your ways . . . ”

(Haggai 1:3-5 CSB)

Haggai is writing to those who have returned to Judah from the Babylonian exile. Those who acted upon a Persian ruler’s decree that any of God’s people who wanted to could “go to Jerusalem in Judah and build the house of the LORD, the God of Israel” (Ezra 1:1-4). So they went. They moved back to the land of promise and were gung-ho to move forward in rebuilding the temple. But, home improvement projects evidently started taking priority over temple rebuilding projects. The time, treasures, and talents that should have been funneled to the work on the holy mount were instead first funneled to work on the homefront.

Nice houses, says Haggai, but check out your fruitless fields — there’s a connection. Think carefully about your ways.

Five times in these two chapters and thirty-eight verses, the LORD of Hosts’ prophet exhorts God’s people, “Think carefully” (vv. 1:5, 1:7, 2:15, 2:18). “Consider” (ESV), “Give careful thought to” (NIV), “Take a good hard look . . . think it over” (MSG).

Whether in a season of bounty or barrenness, I’ve got to think that pausing every so often to think carefully about my ways has benefit. That taking some time to step back from the rigor and routine of what seems to be working might be beneficial in order to assess the alignment of my ways with God’s ways. To consider my daily walk and calibrate it against the daily work I know God has asked me to do.

Think carefully. It can be an uncomfortable exercise, especially when the “prophet within”, the Holy Spirit, starts pointing how much has been completed on our own “to do” list while so much is left undone on God’s “to be” list.

Only as we trust the gospel are we ready to see things in ourselves that we’d rather not see. Only as we believe the blood of Jesus cleanses from all sin — past and present — would we be willing to be shown how we have left the Lord’s house unfinished because we’ve channeled the best stuff into building our own house.

Only as we truly believe that Jesus wants us to return to our first love and first works (Rev. 2:4-5), only as we trust Him that He alone can provide what we need to truly be rich, clothed, and able to see clearly (Rev. 3:18), are we able to ask the Spirit within, “Search me, O God” (Ps. 139:23) and help me to think carefully about my ways. Only as we believe that we are loved of the Father will we be ready to be rebuked and disciplined by the Son, so that, by the Spirit, we would repent and recommit (Rev. 3:19).

Think carefully about your ways.

I may not have a prophet chirping in my ear, but I do have the Spirit speaking to my soul.

Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts . . . (Hebrews 3:15a).

Trusting in His grace. Wanting to live for His glory.