I remember approximately two years ago, the Holy Spirit led me to the Book of Haggai. And when I tell you there were so many corrections I needed to make in my own life, I mean just that.
The Book of Haggai only has two chapters, but there is so much in it that can make you stop and examine yourself. In this book, God is addressing His people because they were so focused on their own homes and their own needs while His house remained in ruins. They had made room for their own priorities, but the things of God had been neglected.
And when I read that, I had to ask myself how many times I had done the same thing.
Now, the Book of Haggai is in the Old Testament, and when God was talking about His house, He was referring to the actual temple, the place where His people would come to worship Him. But under the New Covenant, we understand that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. First Corinthians 6:19 reminds us that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit who is in us.
So, while Haggai was addressing the rebuilding of a physical temple, the message caused me to reflect on something deeper: What happens when we spend so much time building everything around us that we neglect what God wants to build within us?
I remember reading Haggai 1:6, which says:
“Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.” — Haggai 1:6, KJV
When I read that Scripture, I began thinking about my own life. I thought about how focused I had been on working, stacking my bread, getting my finances together, improving my credit, and buying the things I wanted. So much of my attention was on the tangible things, the things I could see, touch, and work toward.
And I couldn’t understand it.
Why was I working so hard but still feeling like I wasn’t getting ahead? Why did it feel like I couldn’t save the way I wanted to? Why did it seem like I was constantly losing something I had worked so hard to gain? Why did I feel like I was doing what I was supposed to do financially, even paying my tithes, but still felt like I didn’t have enough?
Looking back, I can see how much of my thinking was centered on what I could receive materially. And honestly, expecting something in return every time you give is a strange way to approach your relationship with God, isn’t it? Giving should not simply be about what we expect to get back.
But beyond the financial aspect, there was something else I couldn’t explain. I wasn’t satisfied. And I had to realize that there was a difference between working hard to build a life for myself and allowing God to build something within me.
As I reflected on Haggai, the message I took personally was this: I had been so focused on building my own house that I had neglected the temple within me.
I wanted God to work in my life, but was I making room for Him to work in me?
I wanted Him to provide, but was I allowing Him to lead me? I wanted Him to open doors, but was I allowing Him to correct my steps? I wanted to see change in my circumstances, but was I willing to let Him change my character?
Because the truth is, I can work as hard as I want to on the outside, but if I neglect what’s happening on the inside, there will always be something that needs attention.
The temple within me needed work.
My flesh had led me down paths of unrighteousness. It had influenced my decisions, my reactions, and the way I handled certain situations. It had caused me to operate in ways that were the opposite of the fruit of the Spirit. Instead of love, there were times when I allowed other things to lead me. Fear, procrastination, and even becoming comfortable with where I was had all played a part in keeping me from becoming the person I knew I could be.
And how could I expect to grow spiritually if I kept allowing those things to control me?
I had to begin making a conscious decision to build the temple within me, not because I wanted God to give me more tangible things, but because I wanted more of Him.
I wanted a deeper relationship with my Creator, the One I call my Shepherd, my Abba Father, my Provider, my Healer, the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.
I wanted Him to be more than the One I called on when I needed something. I wanted to become more intentional about allowing Him to lead me, correct me, and work through me.
And let me tell you, building this temple has not been easy. My flesh has operated a certain way for so long that changing those habits requires intentionality. It requires discipline. It requires me to say no to things I may want to do and to be honest about the things that are not good for me.
But I started thinking about something.
If a doctor told me that I needed to lose weight in order to live, I would have to make some changes. I would have to be intentional about what I ate, how I moved, and the habits I needed to break. I would understand that my life depended on doing something differently.
So tell me, why is it so hard to accept that I have to die to my flesh so that my spirit can live?
Why is it so difficult to give up the very things that are keeping me from growing?
The more I thought about it, the more I realized that sometimes it isn’t that we can’t change. Sometimes, we simply don’t want to give up the things we have become comfortable doing. We want the growth, but we don’t always want the discipline that comes with it. We want the peace, but we don’t want to let go of the habits that keep disturbing it. We want to be led by the Spirit, but we still want to do things our own way.
And that is where the work begins.
Galatians 5:16 tells us to walk in the Spirit so that we do not fulfill the lust of the flesh. That means I have to make a conscious decision every day about what I am feeding. Am I feeding the things that keep me connected to my old ways, or am I making room for God to develop something new within me?
Because I cannot keep feeding my flesh and expect my spirit to grow the way it needs to.
I cannot keep neglecting the temple and expect to experience the fullness of what God wants to do in me.
And I cannot make everything about what I am trying to build on the outside while ignoring what needs to be built on the inside.
As I continue to reflect on Haggai, I am learning that building the temple is not about trying to convince God to bless me. It is about putting Him back in His rightful place in my life. It is about allowing Him to work on my heart, my character, my decisions, and my relationship with Him.
I want to sow and see a harvest. I want to eat and be satisfied. I want to drink and have my thirst quenched. I want to stop pouring my time and energy into things that leave me feeling empty. But I am learning that my relationship with God cannot be reduced to a formula where I do certain things and expect Him to give me everything I want.
The passage in Haggai was a call for God’s people to examine their priorities and return to the work He had given them. And for me, it became a reminder to examine my own priorities and stop neglecting the work God wants to do within me.
Because there is a difference between having everything you want and becoming who God has called you to be.
I don’t want to spend my entire life building my finances, building my credit, building my career, and building everything else around me while the temple within me remains broken.
I want to build my relationship with God. I want to build my character. I want to build my discipline. I want to build my faith. I want to become a person who is led by the Spirit and not constantly controlled by the flesh.
And that starts with me.
It starts with the decisions I make when nobody is watching. It starts with the habits I choose to break. It starts with the things I am willing to surrender, even when surrendering is uncomfortable.
Because what good is it to build everything around me and neglect what God wants to build within me?
That is the question I have to keep asking myself.
The temple needs to be built. And I have to be willing to do the work.