June 30 Devotion: Many Works, Little Fruit

Haggai 1:6&7 – “6 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. 7 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.” The people of Haggai’s time THOUGHT they were in the will of God and assumed that the time had not yet come to restore the house of the Lord. They tried to prosper but did not have the blessings of God. They claimed to serve God with their lips, yet their works only served themselves. They tried to rationalize their neglect for the things of God because, in their eyes, it was inconvenient timing to sacrifice for the glory of God. I wonder how many Christians are sowing seed that they believe is for God’s glory, when God sees those works as selfish and vain. The flesh hates sowing seed for God because it involves sacrifice. Those in Haggai’s day were sowing for personal gain, and the flesh enjoyed the labor. If there is no cost to the flesh, then the seed we sow is for the betterment of the flesh. The seed we sow for God will always yield fruit, but that fruit may not be what the carnal man sees as success. Our sowing should not be judged according to the number of fruit it yields, only by our obedience to sow as God would have us sow. The flesh wants results, God wants obedient service. The seed we sow unto the flesh is destined to yield moth infested gains. There will never be as much gain to justify the efforts expended into cultivating them. However, though the carnal man would judge our sacrifices for God’s work as loss, God is sure to honor the obedience of a servant with sustenance. The flesh may only see little gain from the seed we sow for God, but little is much when God is in it. I would rather have fruit, those things of gold silver and precious gems that are laid up in heaven, than much effort in appeasing the flesh’s desires.  We are ever charged to consider our ways according to the judgment of God. Here is a good bright-line to start with: If the flesh has no problem with the seed you are “sowing for God” then your seed is not being down for God. Your fellowservant in Christ, Bro. Jordan Foster