Day 12 - "Believe AND Prepare!" by Pastor Tim Escamilla

"5 My Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not. 6 For thus says the Lord of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land. 7 And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of hosts. 8 The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the Lord of hosts. 9 The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the Lord of hosts’” (Haggai 2:5b-9, ESV).

I remember last year when this passage, and really the whole book of Haggai, jumped off the pages and screamed into my situation! I really feel like the Lord wants to do for us what He promised He would do for them. 

Don't get me wrong, I know that we are not in the time of Haggai, and that our situation is much different than that of the people to whom the Lord is speaking here. But my spirit can't help but resonate each time I read this. I want Him to fill my life and my friend's lives with glory! I want him to shake the heavens so that the treasures of God flow bountifully in our lives! 

I think I know a roadblock as to why I sometimes do not experience this promise in my life: a lack of belief. It's not that I don't believe God is powerful enough to do it, but rather, I sometimes question whether He wants ME to experience it all. Sounds crazy, huh? I do believe He wants me to experience the glory that He shares in Haggai. But sometimes, when the rubber meets the road, I don't plan as if He is going to come through that way. I don't make preparations as if He was about to open up the heavens over me, my family, and my Freedom family. BUT I should.

Darren reminded us yesterday that faith needs works! So, if I don't prepare as if God was going to come through, it's as if I don't have faith. I don't have faith because I don't have the works to back it up. We've come to the roadblock again: a lack of belief. So I want to encourage myself, and you, to back up our belief with works. Prepare for His glory! Prepare for Him to open up the heavens! 

I'm not saying quit your job in hopes of a better one. I'm not saying go buy a lottery ticket. I'm not saying that you should gamble on a sports app. I'm not saying to go invest your 401(k) in Crypto. I'm not saying that a headhunter is going to hire you without you submitting a resume. I'm absolutely NOT telling you to go out and buy a car/truck/home that you can't afford, in the hopes that God would provide. 

I AM saying seek God, and see how He wants you to prepare. Ask Him how He would want you to put your faith into action! Then, once you do this with wisdom and following Him, He will open up the heavens over your life! I'm doing it. Because I want Him to know I believe Him! I know He wants the glory I experience today to be greater than the glory I experienced yesterday. He wants this for you, too. Let's plan like it, and believe it for 2023!