Episode 54: Your Alignment and Your Assignment

Have you ever started something off right, and then become side-tracked? It’s human nature to drift, but that’s why we must have an awareness of what gets us off-track.

In the days of the prophets Haggai and Ezra, the Jews had significantly drifted. The people were in captivity for over 60 years. In a miraculous act, King Cyrus lets them return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple which was left in ruins after the take-over. Under the lead of Zerubbabel, they return to begin the task. Although the foundation of the temple is laid, the rest of the work stops for over 16 years. A project that began with a strong start became stagnant and then ultimately stopped. Here’s four reasons that contributed to God’s people having misplaced priorities and if we’re not careful, the same reasons can impact our progress when moving forward in what God has called us to do today: 

#1: DISTRACTIONS: Haggai 1:9 explains that the people started to place building their own homes as a priority before building the house of the Lord. Building their own homes wasn’t a bad thing, but it became a problem when the focus completely shifted away from God’s house to the personal needs of their own. God had promised to restore His people, but He had also asked them to build His house first. When it comes to misplaced priorities, order of priorities matter!

#2: DISRUPTIONS: In Ezra 4:23-24 we see that a letter from the King was read, and the Jews were stopped by force from completing the work. What’s interesting is how quickly they gave up on finishing the work. No negotiations or trying to work it out…they just stopped. Most of the time disruptions don’t need to be final. Every good thing we try to do will be disrupted by something—make no mistake—the enemy loves to thwart your progress. But a disruption doesn’t mean a dismissal. We can always find a way to jump back in, even if our good work has been temporarily delayed. 

#3: DISCOURAGEMENTS: Ezra 4: 4 says “Then the people around them set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to go on building.” There will always be people around that speak discouraging words rather than words of life. It’s our choice how we let their words impact us.

#4: DISAPPOINTMENTS: After the foundation was laid, many of the older people wept because they’d seen the first temple of Solomon, while others shouted for joy. These weeping worshippers may have been disappointed that the new temple wasn’t as glorious as the old. We often get caught in the expectation gap—the place where what we see doesn’t match what we hoped or what we’ve seen before. Isaiah 49:23 says we are to hope in HIM… and those who do will never be disappointed. God doesn’t disappoint! Our circumstances or the people we know may let us down, but God Himself will never fail. 

If our priorities get out of alignment we must 1) recognize we’re out of alignment, 2) re-fix our focus, and 3) remember that God is with us.

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