Haggai 1:5 // Summer of Scripture

Welcome to Summer of Scripture on the Naked marriage podcast. For 66 days in a row, we are releasing a daily devotional episode for your marriage. And over these 66 days, we're going to pull out one scripture from each of the 66 books of the Bible and talk about how it applies to your marriage. So if you listen to every single one of these episodes, you're going to have a comprehensive understanding of God's plan for your marriage. We encourage you to listen to everyone. Let's dive into today's scripture.

Hello and welcome back to Summer of Scripture on the Naked Marriage Podcast. We are on day 37, and we're in Haggai today. And that's chapter one, verse five. It says this. This is what the Lord Almighty says, give careful thought to your ways. And I love that because it's so simple. Again, a lot of God's truths in the Bible are very simple, but maybe hard to carry out, you know, when it really comes down to it. So I'm going to say it again. It says, this is what the Lord Almighty says, give careful thought to your ways. And, you know, as Christ followers, we do need to give careful thought to our ways being, like, what we do on a daily basis, how we go through life. Because as Christians, we're called to be holy, which is set apart, meaning that we don't follow what everybody else does. Right. We're gonna do things slightly differently because. Or maybe very differently, depending on where we live and what the social norms are around us. We do that differently because we love God and we want to serve the Lord.

Yeah, it's so true. You know, the Book of Haggai, it's a short book, like all the minor prophets, but really the theme of it is God calling his people to a building campaign, really, to build. And so I guess maybe a practical application in your own marriage is. And in your own life is like, what do you feel like God is maybe calling you to build right now? And for all of us who are married, he's calling us to build our marriage for all of us who have children. He's calling us to build our family, to build the character of our children. But then in other ways, in kind of specific seasons, I think he sometimes calls us to build our career in specific ways or maybe build something new, some new endeavor, and it can lead to a great conversation with your spouse of, like, in our own lives collectively as a married couple, as a family, what is God calling us to build right now with his help? And how can we move toward that Together.

And I think even evaluating, like, our daily habits, our ways, so to speak, leading us towards that or away from that, you know, and just kind of constantly honing in on that collective dream that you and your spouse have, you know, And I think for us, we've shared on here briefly on the podcast, like, we've always had this dream of maybe one day having some land or a place where it's either going to be a wedding venue or like a retreat center, or both. And years ago, we actually had an opportunity. We took that opportunity, we invested in this place. But for a slew of reasons, it didn't turn out to be quite what we thought it would be. And instead of looking at that like a total failure, we've really tried, even though it felt like that very much so, we really tried to just learn from it, you know, to really think, okay, what is God teaching us here? Like, how, you know, do we. Do we still feel like that's the. That's what he's really calling us to build? Or is it slightly differently? And I think for us, it's kind of like. I don't know, I feel like it's coming more into focus, right? Little by little. It's not totally in focus yet. It's not, but it's coming more into focus.

But I think again, you know, last episode we talked about God being a lamp to your feet, you know, where you just get one little step, enough light for one step at a time. Because he wants us not to run off on our own and try to live out the whole plan, but to independence on him patiently go one step at a time. And in those, even if there's a misstep or even if it's a step that you didn't think was what was coming, God always works through it. He's always working to work all things together for our good and his glory, and teaching us along the way. So everything you and your spouse have been through, it's been to teach you, to equip you, to prepare you. I mean, even running on a treadmill, technically, you're not going anywhere. You know, you're running and running and running, and you're not moving forward. And you could think, well, there's no progress in this at all. But the whole point of it is that it's making you stronger. So sometimes the struggles we're facing, it isn't about actually moving forward in the way we think of moving forward. It's about what's happening inside of us, how God is strengthening us for the Journey ahead. Preparing us for what he has in store for us in the future.

That's so good, sweetie. And I think a great conversation maybe that this episode could lead to is talking about areas where you feel like God is preparing you, like, pointing to certain things that you feel like throughout the past few years, you know, God's been preparing you for, but also where you feel like you're lacking. Like, where do we need more wisdom? Where do we need more equipping? Like, really talking through that. And I know. And this could be, like, saving money for that thing that you want to actually build, or it might be changing around your calendar so that there's more time. You know, things that we can control. Like, that we can. We can. We can control saving a little or saving a lot. We can control our calendars. Like, we have a lot of license over what's on that calendar. What's on that calendar. What people do you need in your corner? Do you need to learn from people who've done this ahead of you? I think that some of the best advice is I'm lacking the people that I need to help me to learn more about how to do this thing that I feel like God's called me to do and called us to do. And I know one of my favorite things. We never thought we'd be in marriage ministry. We love it. We love to be able to do this together. But I think one of the greatest things that God's done for us in moving us forward in this ministry is putting the right people around us. And it started, though, with us putting ourselves out there and meeting these people. And I will tell you guys, I'm a very social person, but I am not very good at doing that first introduction, am I? I'm not.

It's not your favorite.

I just. The introvert in me starts flaring, and they're like, you know, no. And, I mean, I have done it. I forced myself to do it, but. But it's not natural for me. Like, it's not. I get really nervous, and I feel so awkward, and I just. Yeah, I just feel weird. But I've had to grow in that. Like, that's something where God's grown me and been like, well, if you want to. If you want to learn from those people, you first have to say a word to them and introduce yourself, you know, and. Or you have to send that email and not think you're weird. How many times have I done something that's just putting myself out there? And I'll go, I'll go, is that weird or are they going to think I'm weird? And he goes, you, he goes, more than any person I know. You always think you're weird, like you always say. And he goes, you're just taking steps, honey. It's good. He's like, you're not weird, you know, but I think it's that self doubt. So sometimes we just have to allow the Lord to give us that confidence to take those steps.

Or even when you're not feeling the confidence to have the courage to step.

Anyway, do it, do it scared, you.

Know, and the confidence will catch up.

Yeah, it will catch up. It will.

I love it.

Yeah.

Well, guys, I hope that was an encouragement to you today. We're enjoying this. I hope you're enjoying it too. Hey, take a second, go over to Instagram. If you're not following us, we're at Dave and Ashley Willis. Follow us, send us a message and let us know. Let us know what, what these episodes are meaning to you. We love hearing from you guys and we'll look forward to seeing you tomorrow for day 38 will be in the book of Zechariah.