First Things First

Posted On September 11, 2023

“Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.”

Haggai 1:5-6 NIV

“C. S. Lewis once wrote,
‘Put first things first and we get second things thrown in:
put second things first and we lose both first and second things.’
. . . the children of Israel had to be reminded of this truth.”

Randy Frazee, The Heart of the Story

Does it sometimes seem like nothing’s going your way? Or that no matter what you do, your plans always seem to fall through? Do you try really hard and feel like you’re getting nowhere? If so, you’re not the only one! I have often felt this way. Once the Israelites returned home after exile, they did too. So, what’s going on? Let’s see what we can learn from Scripture . . .

Our plan for 2023 is to journey through The NeverEnding Story of the Bible and discover how we fit into it along the way. Our plan for this year is loosely based on The Story, an abridged chronological version of the Bible, and the accompanying study guide The Heart of the Story by Randy Frazee.

Here is where we are in The Story:

MOVEMENT TWO: The Story of Israel (Genesis 12-Malachi)

Chapter 19 – The Return Home

This chapter in The Story covers Ezra 1-6, Haggai 1-2, and Zechariah 1, 8. As prophesied, Israel has been in captivity for seventy years when they suddenly are called to go home. In a surprising turn of events, God appoints King Cyrus of Persia to direct and fund the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem. And the king makes a proclamation allowing God’s people to return home to work on the building project.

At first, all is well. The Israelites get right to work on the Temple. After awhile, however, their excitement fades. And soon they start to face opposition from neighboring countries, which shuts the project down.

“Thus the work on the house of God in Jerusalem came to a standstill . . . .”

Ezra 4:24 NIV

Then, probably without meaning to, they lost their focus. The building project was abandoned and they began to turn their attention to other things, such as building their own homes. I’m sure they meant to get back to the Temple at some point. But sixteen years went by and the God’s Temple just sat there, an overgrown and neglected construction site.

“Why are you living in luxurious houses while my house lies in ruins?'”

Haggai 1:4 NLT

“When our priorities become more important than God’s, our lives are marked by futility.”

Randy Frazee, The Heart of the Story

When the Israelites started to focus more on their own desires than God’s, things stopped going their way. Their harvests were disappointing. They faced drought. They never seemed to have enough money. Their plans just didn’t seem to work out. Sound familiar? It’s become a running joke in my house that I absolutely cannot make any plans because they always seem to fall through. As one who likes to make schedules and to-do lists, I’m often frustrated to find that I can’t ever seem to get everything done. Things come up that weren’t expected, and I find myself abandoning my good intentions and switching to survival mode. Maybe you can relate.

“‘You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?’ declares the Lord Almighty. ‘Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house.'” 

Haggai 1:9 NIV

So, what’s going on? Sometimes things just happen and we don’t understand why. But sometimes, God uses our circumstances to get our attention, especially if we’ve gotten off track. This has been very true in my life! God has spoken to me in some very creative ways when I’ve strayed off of His path, and it hasn’t always been fun. And the main thing He seems to be saying is this: Make Me your top priority and then everything else will fall into place.

“When the Israelites returned to Jerusalem, their priority was to rebuild the temple, to place their focus where it needed to be — on the presence of God in their lives and on the will of God for their lives. They started out strong, but soon lost focus. Their priorities flip-flopped to rebuilding their houses first. Everything in their lives stopped working, and they were filled with frustration. Later, Jesus will tell us to ‘seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.'”

Randy Frazee, The Heart of the Story

When we focus on our own plans and desires instead of God’s, we may end up putting ourselves in a position of trying to oppose Him. And I think we all know how that works out! If we try to go up against God, we will lose. Period. Charles Stanley puts it this way: “Whatever you acquire outside of God’s will eventually turns to ashes. . . . Anything you hold too tightly, you will lose.” I have definitely experienced this. And so did the Israelites. God will use whatever it takes, however painful, to get our attention and get us back on track with His will. We do ourselves a huge favor if spend our time focusing on God’s will in the first place. Instead of worrying so much about our plans and our to-do lists and all the things we have to do before we can fit in a few minutes for God, we will be much more successful and productive if we make spending time with God our top priority. Then we can trust Him to help us manage everything else.

“When we make first things first, God throws in the second things. When we make second things first, we lose all things. Align your life to God’s Upper Story, and the Lower Story will go much smoother.”

Randy Frazee, The Heart of the Story

This week’s Scripture passages remind us to return to God and set our minds on Him and His Kingdom. His power is at work within us to carry out His work in the world. When we spend time with Him, His desires become our desires. And when we’re focused on doing His will, He promises to take care of everything else!

In case they are helpful for you, here are a few more of Charles Stanley’s life principles that have encouraged me: “Prayer is life’s greatest time saver. . . . God assumes full responsibility for our needs when we obey Him. . . . Obedience always brings blessing.” I admit it’s tough for me to make this adjustment. I’m still learning. I still try to do too much on my own instead of relying on God’s wisdom and strength. But I’m not going to give up trying! And I hope you won’t either. With His help, I know we can retrain our brains to focus more on Him and less on ourselves, and then I believe we will be amazed at what we’re able to accomplish!

“But now I will save you. You will be a blessing to others.
Do not be afraid. Let your hands be strong so that you can do my work.”

Zechariah 8:13 NIRV

References:

• Frazee, Randy.  The Heart of the Story: Discover Your Life Within the Grand Epic of God’s Story. Zondervan, 2017.
• Stanley, Charles F. 30 Life Principles Study Guide: A Study for Growing in Knowledge and Understanding of God. Thomas Nelson, 2008.
• The Story: Read the Bible as One Seamless Story from Beginning to End. Rev. ed., Zondervan, 2008.

Images:

• Temple Featured image by Leehu Zysberg from Pixabay (edited)
• Ruins image by yaeluri from Pixabay
• Dead Tree image by Mollyroselee from Pixabay
• Sunrise Sky image by ekrem from Pixabay (edited)
• Temple Wall with Tree Shadows image by Gidon Pico from Pixabay