Probably most of us have experienced riding a bike against the wind. It’s not impossible, but it’s extremely hard. Sometimes our family will take our bikes to the local bike path, and the wind is against us as we go in one direction, but then with us as we head in the other direction. What a difference!
There is a way to go about our pursuit of God that is against the wind. And there’s a way to go about it that is with the wind. What I’m talking about is the difference between selfish prayers and selfless prayers. If our praying is centered primarily on obtaining things that will make our life better, then we will find that prayer is strained. But when we are aligned with God’s purposes, the wind of the Spirit will cause our prayers to take flight.
If this is true—and it most certainly is—then, we must ask ourselves if we are really aligned with God’s purposes. Are we moving in the same direction as God? Do we want what He wants?
Our interests
The range of things that falls under the banner of self-interest is anything that we want for ourselves: money, pleasure, career advancement, food, clothing, a house, a vacation, a wife, a husband, children, safety, security, health, friends, recognition, peace, excitement, rest, and so on. Now, it is natural to want these kinds of things, and it’s not wrong to pursue them, but, when they take precedence over the purposes of God, they become idols.
What can happen when our interests are supreme and God’s interests take a back seat is that our pursuit of God becomes tainted by self-interest. Our perception of God is more akin to Santa or a Genie in a bottle. God becomes the great cosmic vending machine of blessings. This kind of Christianity can get so far off track that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are replaced with me, myself and I. We become the center of the universe. And our needs and wants become the most important thing.
This way of selfish thinking can be hard to detect because many of the things we need and want are permissible. In other words, they aren’t sins. These are actually good things that become idolatrous things when our hearts are not aligned with God’s interests.
Haggai
The reason I’m bringing this up is that it is one of the greatest hindrances to finding a deep relationship with God. It leads to spiritual frustration. Our prayers, our fasting, our Bible study, our reading, and so on, don’t seem to get us anywhere. In fact, it can almost feel like God is intentionally making things hard. Consider these verses from Haggai—
You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes. —Haggai 1:6
Have you ever felt this way? I have! It feels like we are working against the wind, or like we are running up a muddy hill. We can’t seem to get any traction. We secretly wonder why this is so hard. We wonder if we just aren’t cut out for spiritual depth. We wonder if God has just made it too difficult to have a close relationship with Him. We may even become resentful that we have put out so much effort but have “harvested little.”
Paneled houses
The Lord doesn’t keep them in the dark about where the “leak” is and what’s causing it.
"Thus says the LORD of hosts: These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the LORD." Then the word of the LORD came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, "Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? Now, therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways. —Haggai 1:2-5
We won’t get into all the details of the historical context but what was essentially happening was that the people had become more concerned with their own individual lives than with the grand purposes of God. They lost sight of the big picture and got lost in their own personal goals. Notice the Lord doesn’t even mention sin. He just talks about them dwelling in their paneled houses while His house lies in ruins. What does that mean?
There’s nothing wrong with dwelling in a paneled house. God wasn’t telling them they shouldn’t own houses. Or that they should live in tents. God wasn’t telling them to not take care of their houses. He wasn’t telling them to neglect caring for the needs of the family. God wasn’t saying that at all. The indictment was that they were only focused on their personal lives and were not concerned about the thing God was building, namely, His house.
God’s House
It’s true that the house of God being in ruins, and needing to be rebuilt, had practical implications. It was a call to rebuild the actual physical house and bring religious life back to its full expression. But this isn’t about God needing helpers for His building project. That is to miss the point entirely. God doesn’t need a big building to dwell in. The thing that God is building is a people who will glorify His name!
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. —Haggai 2:7
In our day, the Lord is building His Church. Again, this may have practical implications of God’s people sacrificing time and money and energy in a building project for the church. Buildings are needed, sure, but the greater thing God is building is a unified, sanctified, Spirit-filled, godly, family of redeemed believers who shine like stars in the world. The Lord wants His Church to reflect His glory. He wants His Church to be a house of prayer for all nations. He wants His Church to be a demonstration of power, beauty and grace to a lost world. He wants His Church to be a living portrait of the Son of God.
Pursuit motives
In our pursuit of God it is important to consider our ways. Are we praying and working toward the same goals as our Lord? If we are engrossed in our houses, our careers, our hobbies, our families, our needs and wants, and if we only give the scraps of our time, energy and money toward what the Lord is building—we will be frustrated. We will be unsatisfied. We will glean almost nothing from our religious practices. We will never have enough and will never have our fill. And here’s the reason why—
You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? declares the LORD of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house. Therefore the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce. And I have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on man and beast, and on all their labors." —Haggai 1:9-11
Miserable, dull and distant
Why are there so many miserable Christians? Why are there so many dead churches? Why are there so many people who seem so religious but seem like a garden full of weeds? At the root of the problem is self-interest. The Lord Himself will see to it that when we have a mindset of self-interest that nothing will work. Life will feel like we are dragging weights around our ankles. Our pursuit of God will feel dull and God will feel distant. I know what I’m talking about because I’ve been in that place at times!
What I’m saying is that if we want our pursuit of God to feel like we are riding with the wind, then we must be careful to make the interests of God a priority in our lives.
Sneaky
I’ve seen a trend in recent years—though maybe it’s not new—of taking self-interests and labeling them “purposes of God.” This is a sneaky trick of the evil one, because it is true that tending to our house and family, working hard on our jobs, exercising, pursuing hobbies and crafts, is all part of God’s plan for us. These are good things. But we make these good things the main things, and we make the main things of God the neglected things.
Let me say it more plainly. If we want the wind on our backs in this pursuit of God, then we need to be devoting ourselves to the thing God is building, namely, His Church. Again, I’m not talking about the church building. I’m talking about the local church the Lord has placed you in. Devote yourself to the people. God is building into these people love, generosity, kindness, meekness, and other virtues. God is raising them up to know Him and to make Him known in the world. Partner with God in this work of building the local church. There is nothing that glorifies God more than a vibrant church that reflects Jesus. When we make this purpose of God a priority, above all else, then, we will discover the Rushing Mighty Wind in our pursuit of God.