future tense

Dear God,
The special meetings that you brought to church this week were amazing. Thank You so much for how You spoke to me, taught me new things, and gave me a new focus. I think that Monday night impacted me the most.

The evangelist spoke from the book of Haggai. He told how the Israelites were commanded to leave Babylon and return to Jerusalem. They went back full of energy and enthusiasm, ready to rebuild the temple. Within four months of arriving home, they had the foundation completely laid. Unfortunately, the going got tough, and they quit going--that's when Haggai started his encouragement to continue.

Haggai 2:1-9 In the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month, the word of the LORD came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, 2 "Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to all the remnant of the people, and say, 3 'Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How do you see it now? Is it not as nothing in your eyes? 4 Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the LORD. Be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the LORD. Work, for I am with you, declares the LORD of hosts, 5 according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. 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.'"

Some of the discouragement that the people were facing was coming from people who had seen Solomon's temple. They compared this new, simple temple with the lost beauty of Solomon's. You commanded Haggai remind the Israelites not to compare the present to the past. They needed to remember that the best temple is yet to be seen--Your Millenium Kingdom.

Haggai's whole sermon is a great message for me, too. So often I go to camp or special meetings and get enthusuastic about my spiritual life. Then I fall or become discouraged and start comparing the present (discouragement) to the past (enthusiasm and growth). It just seems easier to just sit still and do nothing to change. That's when I need to remind myself why I am living and what my goals are. I am not living for the present or to outdo the past. I am living for what is to come in the future. If I can keep my eyes on that, with Your strength, Lord, I can faithfully continue the building process of my life.

"[Your] greatest work is always in the future."