Do you remember Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood? I spent some time there as a child. He always wore the coolest sweaters; I usually wore my pajamas. We did a lot of cool things together. He would regularly ask me the same question, “Can you say..?” Did you learn a few words from Mr. Rogers too? I bet “insignificant” wasn’t one of them.
Mister Rogers never taught me that word but I’ve learned the whole concept. We all have. It pushes us like some sort of invisible cattle prod. It pulls on us like a lead ball. It rolls off our tongues and turns someone’s world to cinders. With just this one idea Satan is able to steal, kill, and destroy.
Living for God outside the spotlight of “great accomplishment” can feel pretty insignificant, can’t it? The small spiritual things of life that start off so important can become amazingly heavy. “What I’m doing is nothing compared to what ‘So and So’ has done. What’s the point? What difference am I making anyway?”
Have you spoken similar words in your heart? Believe it or not some people in the Bible have walked in these same insignificant shoes. God’s word to them in their time of obvious insignificance may surprise you.
For the sake of a little context check out Haggai chapter 1. The Israelites had long before laid the foundation of the temple. After meeting with resistance, they slipped into selfishness. For something close to 16 years paneling their walls took priority over rebuilding the temple. God confronted them through Haggai and at last they responded. Haggai 1:14 says God went to work in the hearts of the leaders and the people and they began working on the temple.
Haggai 2:1 picks up the story about a month later. The Lord sent Haggai to the people with a penetrating question about their work on His behalf. “Who is left among you who saw this temple in its former glory? And how do you see it now? Does it not seem to you like nothing in comparison?“
Remember the original temple had been incredible. I Kings 5:13-7:51 tells us the story. Over 180,000 laborers contributed to it’s construction. It was covered in gold, even the floor!
The folks working on the second temple knew what had been lost with the first. After a month of divinely inspired effort (1:14), they hadn’t produced anything incredible. What do you want to bet they felt like God was absent and their work was small? To top it off, the memory of Solomon’s temple must have scolded in their times of fatigue, “Small! Insignificant! Nothing!” Their work for God may have been an ever increasing source of frustration. “This will never amount to anything!”
God brought their pain out in the open with His question, He went to work on that pain in 2:4-5. “Take courage…and work; for I am with you… My Spirit is abiding in your midst; do not fear!” Maybe we could say it like this, “Take courage. Keep going. I’ve been here all month!”
Think about the details. God inspired and blessed the work. He was present in the midst of the work the whole time. And the work was small and seemingly insignificant. Notice too that God isn’t fussing about a lack of progress or the scale of the undertaking. Instead, He is encouraging them in the midst of their success. (Yes, they were actually succeeding!) The presence and provision of God don’t always add up to our definition of big and significant.
God goes a step further in 2:6-9. “‘The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former,’ says the Lord of hosts…” By the time God gets out of the temple construction business, Solomon’s temple will pale in comparison. Knowing the glory at the end of the line sure helps the work on the line, doesn’t it?
Truth is, none of us are rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem. But are the works that God has prepared for us to do, as Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:10, of any less consequence? Remember how impressed Jesus was with the widow’s mite? What about the woman who washed His feet with her tears? What about your choice to be Christ-like in your parenting or at your place of employment? What about the meal you fixed for your neighbor? What about the time you spent listening to someone’s loss? What about the word of encouragement you gave or the forgiveness you extended to your spouse?
Aren’t these and more the good works that He has prepared for us? His handiwork is significant; both you and the works He has prepared for you!
Satan doesn’t want you to return to God’s work. When you return, he doesn’t want you to continue. He will shame you with someone else’s success. Resist the devil and he will flee. God is present. He’s ready to leave the past and move on to bigger and better things. Will we keep working? Even in the small and seemingly insignificant ways?
This afternoon, before I put the finishing touches on this blog, my son ran the 800 meters in the elementary school track meet. It didn’t turn out like he dreamed it would. As we left, he said he felt embarrassed. Haggai 2 was rolling around in my heart as we walked to the car. “Sometimes, son, life doesn’t turn out like we dream. Sometimes it’s embarrassing. We feel like quitting. I’m so proud that you kept going and finished. You finished well.”
I took my son to Sonic to celebrate his effort. A kid’s meal with a cheeseburger, tator-tots, and a cherry limeade. How much more will God do when we finish the race He has set before us?
Can you say, “Eternal Reward”?
