Fresh start - priorities and comparisons

Discouragement is just as much a problem for believers in today's world as it was for the Jewish people who had returned to Jerusalem.
Last week we saw that a fresh encounter with God, with His Word, would point out our sins, but also confirm for us the grace that God offers us.
This week, we will continue with these thoughts.....

Now Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the prophet, a descendant of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them. 2 Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Joshua son of Jozadak set to work to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were with them, supporting them. (Ezra 5:1-2)

Then the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai: 4 “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?” (Haggai 1:3-4) 

Getting back into God's Word will also straighten out our priorities. Haggai exhorted the people to get their priorities in order by putting God's house first. We are all prone to let the things of this world crowd the things of God right out of first place in our lives.
Many of the commercials on television today are for the newest cars on the market. The commercials make it seem that if we desire to be beautiful and successful, we need a new vehicle! I expect the car salesmen see it every day: people are trading in their "old" car to get a new feature or a newer style. The trade-in may not be two years old yet, but the customer thinks they "need" this new car.
Choices.
Debt.
Priorities.
Maybe we don't struggle in this area; maybe that new car doesn't attract us with a siren song of what could be. But what about our time? Do we put spending time with God as first priority in our lives? How about in the area of service? Of loving our neighbors? Do we get this skewed and desire to be served instead of serving others?

Wherever we look in God's Word, we will find our skewed priorities corrected. The Word keeps calling us back to the basics . . .

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matthew 6:33)

We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So we make it our goal to please him,whether we are at home in the body or away from it. (II Corinthians 5:8-9)

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Matthew 22:37-39)

God's Word also teaches us how to change our behavior and our thoughts in order to live in a manner that pleases Him.
What do I mean?
I'm glad you asked!
Until these two prophets came along, most of the Jews in the land surrounding Jerusalem probably thought they were doing OK. They may even have patted themselves on the backs for giving up their established, comfortable lives in Babylon and making the long, treacherous journey across the desert. They were doing the right thing for their families, after all, and making them nice residences in the homeland. And perhaps they compared themselves to those who'd stayed behind, too. "Well, we don't have a temple yet, but these things take time. The peeps back in Babylon don't have a place to worship, either. At least we made the sacrifice and came back to the land!"
And their pride continued to swell . . . .
But then the prophets spoke, and the people realized that to please God, they needed to change their behavior AND their thoughts - they needed to commit to rebuilding the temple, and they needed to stop comparing themselves to others!

When God's Word speaks to us today, we can have the same kind of "ah hah!" moment. An epiphany of sorts. He wants our behavior and our thoughts to be pleasing, too.
God's Word shows us how to make our behavior match our commitment to God:

 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, (Titus 2:12)

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)

And His Word exposes the intentions of our hearts - it makes us adjust our thinking.

May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart    be pleasing in your sight,    Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm 19:14)

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.  (Philippians 4:8)

It's easy to lull ourselves into complacency, and even pride, if we compare ourselves to others. We always seem to choose someone to compare ourselves to, who is not as committed as we are! (Grin) But a fresh encounter in God's Word will make us realize that God wants honesty and purity in our thought life. He calls for us to love Him with all our heart, our soul, our mind, and our strength. So we can adjust our priorities and our thinking and please Him more.

These are all wonderful things to recall when we are dealing with discouragement. But if we just are too bowed down with fear, or with grief, or with disappointment, I want to encourage all of us to remember some Psalms to read. These will help us tremendously. Each of the psalms is of benefit, but if you just remember these verses, they will help, too:

The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;    he delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted    and saves those who are crushed in spirit. (Psalm 34:17-18)

As a father has compassion on his children,    so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed,    he remembers that we are dust. (Psalm 103:13-14)

Those who sow with tears    will reap with songs of joy. Those who go out weeping,    carrying seed to sow,will return with songs of joy,    carrying sheaves with them. (Psalm 126:5-6)

We can overcome discouragement! He will help us make a new, new beginning!