Turn Around

1 cor 6:19-20
19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

This is a common verse that has been frequently used to convey to us that we need to take care of our bodies.  However, I have never really fully compared myself to an actual temple.  On top of that, I’ve never looked at what else God says about his temples and how they should be.  I was drawn to Haggai one day and read a passage that interested me.

Haggai chapter 1 – 2

2 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “These people say, ‘The time has not yet come to rebuild the Lord’s house.’”
3 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?”
5 Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. 6 You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.”

This passage came to me in a time when I was not taking care of my temple physically or spiritually.  Sometimes, we get so caught up in life that we focus so much on what we want and need that we forget our spiritual health on top of our physical health.  He asks “is it time for us to be living in our paneled houses while the Lord’s house remains a ruin?”  It struck me to be a question of, should we be worried so much about what I want and need while our temples of the spirit that was given to us lays in ruin?  Should we go on day to day and ignore what the Lord is subtly saying to us and leave our spiritual life is in shambles?  What have many of us gained from pursuing nothing but our own endeavors?

5 Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. 6 You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.”
9 “You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?” declares the Lord Almighty. “Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house. 

This isn’t necessarily to say that God will take away all of our things and make our worldly efforts to improve our lives for nothing, but it shows to me the rat race.  The daily grind where we work or go to school or keep house without thought of God only to run ourselves in to the ground more and more each day and feeling as though we never have enough money or good enough clothes, etc.  And he says it’s because of the temple laying in ruin.
But, with God, there is always hope.  He always accept us back into his fold if we seek him out.  Just like the Israelites in Haggai, after we obey, God will be with us.

12 Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and the whole remnant of the people obeyed the voice of the Lord their God and the message of the prophet Haggai, because the Lord their God had sent him. And the people feared the Lord.
13 Then Haggai, the Lord’s messenger, gave this message of the Lord to the people: “I am with you,” declares the Lord.

There are other examples of this thought in both the new and old testament.  In James, one of my favorite books, he tells us to submit to God and change, telling us that God will help us if we do.

James 4:7-10
7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

I like this passage because it tells us to “Grieve, mourn and wail.” as if to show us how we should feel about our sins that have taken us from his presence.  We should change our deceiving laughter and joy in going down the wrong road to mourning over how we’ve hurt God, letting our temple lie in ruin.  Then, in the Old Testament, the Bible says for everyone to turn to him.  Everyone on Earth.

Isaiah 45:22
“Turn to me and be saved,
all you ends of the earth;
for I am God, and there is no other.

He tells us here that one reason to come back to God is that he simply is deserving.  There is no other.  His commands ring true throughout time as he says in the Old Testament here:

Zacharia 1:2-6

2 “The Lord was very angry with your ancestors. 3 Therefore tell the people: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Return to me,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will return to you,’ says the Lord Almighty. 4 Do not be like your ancestors, to whom the earlier prophets proclaimed: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Turn from your evil ways and your evil practices.’ But they would not listen or pay attention to me, declares the Lord. 5 Where are your ancestors now? And the prophets, do they live forever? 6 But did not my words and my decrees, which I commanded my servants the prophets, overtake your ancestors?
“Then they repented and said, ‘The Lord Almighty has done to us what our ways and practices deserve, just as he determined to do.’”

He tells us here that we have to turn around wholeheartedly and not pay lip service to the idea of changing our lives.  The ancestors did just that and he says “Where are your ancestors now?  And the prophets, do they live forever?”  But he says that his words overtook them, to me meaning that his commands outlasted him.  His commands stand through time.  If we turn, he may decide to bless us in a way that may be better than he had before our fall.

Haggai chapter 2: 6-9
6 “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. 7 I will shake all nations, and what is desired by all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord Almighty. 8 ‘The silver is mine and the gold is mine,’ declares the Lord Almighty. 9 ‘The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the Lord Almighty. ‘And in this place I will grant peace,’ declares the Lord Almighty.”

In the same passage in Haggai, he said he will return his house to its previous glory and that the glory of the “present house will be greater than the former house.”  And not only the former Glory, but more importantly, he says “And in this place I will grant peace.”  The peace that comes from having a viable hope in God and trust in him that will help us through our hard times.  God also knows that it will be difficult for us to stay on the right path.  I gather this from a few passages.

Joshua 1:9 
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Phillipians 4:6
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

These two verses show us that God will be with us in our change even when it’s hard for us to handle.  It tells us that we are to cast our cares and worries onto god and he will be there for us.  He will grant us his grace to handle things.  While that is true, he may not respond when or how we want him to.

Haggai 2: 2-4
 2 “Speak to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, to Joshua son of Jozadak,[a] the high priest, and to the remnant of the people. Ask them, 3 ‘Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing? 4 But now be strong, Zerubbabel,’ declares the Lord. ‘Be strong, Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land,’ declares the Lord, ‘and work. For I am with you,’ declares the Lord Almighty

The house that I spoke of earlier, may not be what we see as being as good as or better than we had before.  He asks who remembers the old temple and compares it to how it looked after they rebuilt it.  He says that it may look like nothing to them, but tells them to be strong and do the work and he will be with them.

2 Peter 3:9 
“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”

Knowing that God said he has plans for us, we should not expect for it to happen on our timeline or when we think it would be the most beneficial.  God will do what is best for us when it's best for us and we can trust in this given the examples in the Old Testament and the promises of the New Testament; all we need to do is believe and keep his commandments.  

Mark 11: 22-24
22 “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. 23 “Truly[f] I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

Jesus tells us that if we ask and we believe, it will be done for us.  Of course, God is not going to grant us our wishes if it is not best for us.  There is a system set up to give us extra help when we go to God with our needs.

Romans 8:26-28
26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[i] have been called according to his purpose. 

According to Romans, we don't even really know what to ask for or how to ask. The Holy Spirit communicates for us knowing what we need.  He communicates what we need to a God that already knows what we need.  The thing is, if we believe and follow God's commands, the system works in our favor.  The bible says in other verses that God judges our hearts.  Not just our actions.  Also, everyone falls short of the glory of God.  So if we fail, we can try again.  And we can keep trying as long as we're genuinely trying.  We can't pay lip service.  Jesus talks of people honoring him with their lips while their hearts are far from him.  
If we are genuinely changing and trying to obey Jesus' commands, God will be with us and he may reward us if we believe.