When does God promise to bless our obedience? Is it when our obedience and diligence completes a project? Is it when we fulfill a promise made? If we promise to tithe our annual income will His blessing wait until the full tithe is paid? Not necessarily.
Two times in the book of Haggai chapter 2 the prophet says, “from this day on” (verses 15 & 18). What day was he referring to? The day they started laying brick upon brick in the foundation of the temple. It wasn’t when they laid the final brick to complete the job. It was when they laid the first bricks. God wants to bless us, but He waits for us to start doing first things first.
Why is it so hard for us to figure this out? Or, if we have figured it out, to just do it. Whatever God asks of us, beware of putting it off to do other things, even good things. This is especially true if the other things are primarily related to what will benefit us or fulfill our personal desires. Always ask yourself, “What do I believe is to be first in God’s plan?”
It might not seem significant to us. We might be comparing what we’re doing with what others have done or are doing. We might be discouraged thinking about what we believe God wants us to do. But if we start doing it, from that very day on God says in Haggai 2:19, “I will bless you.”
Trust Him and obey Him. You’ll see for yourself, even as the Israelites did, that what God asks of you is to do first things first!
