Obedience

Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the LORD their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the LORD their God had sent him. And the people feared the LORD. Then Haggai, the messenger of the LORD, spoke to the people with the LORD’s message, “I am with you, declares the LORD.” And the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people. And they came and worked on the house of the LORD of hosts, their God, on the twenty-fourth day of the month, in the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king.
Haggai 1:12–15
+
Obedience
We know that faith comes from hearing the Word of God. This is one of the means in which our Father chooses to come to us. Yet so often we neglect to hear God’s Word, and when we do hear it, too often we ignore it. We have other ideas, other plans on how we want to live our lives. But when the Word of God does come to us and we listen we are moved to repentance and receive God’s precious gift of forgiveness and eternal life. When the Word of the Lord came to the people of Judah they obeyed and begin the task of rebuilding the temple. They demonstrate repentance for their previous selfishness. The Lord in turn promises to be with them, and He stirs up the spirit of the people and their leaders to work hard. Likewise, through Word and Sacrament, God is present with us today. His Spirit stirs us to repentance and gives us a burning desire to serve Him. May God ever bless our hearing and our doing of His holy will.