Be Strong and Work

Encouragements

7of the sons of Gershom, Joel the chief, and 130 of his relatives;

– 1 Chronicles 15:7

4But now take courage, Zerubbabel,’ declares the Lord, ‘take courage also, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and all you people of the land take courage,’ declares the Lord, ‘and work; for I am with you,’ declares the Lord of armies.

– Haggai 2:4
(NASB® © 2020)

We would like to connect these two biblical passages that speak of being strong and working for the Lord.

First, we see in 2 Chronicles that King Asa has just won a great victory over the army of millions from Ethiopia. Sometimes, after a great victory that the Lord gives us in His grace, we tend to sit back and rest our hands in our laps. We can be thankful for times of rest that the Lord gives us (cf. 2 Chr 14:6). However, the prophet reminded King Asa that he should be strong and not let his hands grow weak, even after such a victory. As believers today, we can thank the Lord for the victories He gives us and for the times of rest He gives us, but then we should continue to be strong and work for Him. There will be a reward for all that we have truly done for His sake!

Secondly, in Haggai, we see encouragement from the Lord on a day when there are only a few left. Only a relatively small number had returned to the center of God in Jerusalem (Ezra 2). They realized that the house they were building was nothing compared to the glory of Solomon’s temple (Hag 2:3). Nevertheless, he encouraged Zerubbabel, Joshua, and all the people in the land to build. He assures them that he is with them (Hag 2:4).

So let us not be discouraged today if the work seems small or if only a few of the Lord’s beloved people want to return to his place of assembly today (Mt 18:20). Let us be strong and labor in what He has given us to do, both in the gospel and in building up His people. He is with us!

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