Get Specific

As I was reading my Bible this morning I had a thought. And that random thought turned into a challenge for you this week. :) So here it goes...and I warned you it was random, but try to follow. I was reading in the book of Haggai. No I’m not trying to flex any spiritual muscles by implying I turn to Haggai when I’m looking for some spiritual insight. It just happens to be today’s reading in my One Year Bible. It begins with this, “In the second year of King Darius, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest:...” I’m a guy that likes to just get to the point and say what I mean without all the details.

If I were to write that passage it would have gone something like this, “God told Haggai to tell Zerubbabel and Joshua....”. Because of my personality I usually think details are a waste of time, but I don’t believe God wasted any of what was put in the Bible. As I read Haggai 1:1 this morning I paused before reading on to think about why all those details were put there. Why the year, month and day? Why the individual’s parent and position? The answer: it gives us Context. Now I know you’re not standing to your feet right now in applause at that wonderful revelation, as I’m aware I’m stating the obvious. It’s important for us to have the specifics in order to provide the context so that we can remember God’s specific activity in our lives. If not, all that comes after Haggai 1:1 is just God’s Word and His call to action somewhere at some time in history. The specifics provide context and meaning for the working of God.

Now let’s make the transition to your life. There is no doubt in my mind that if you have been walking with God for more than a day God is working in your life, whether you see it or not. It may be something huge or it may be something small, but if you are reading your Bible, spending time in prayer and trying to walk in obedience to what you feel God is speaking to you, then God is probably doing something in your life. The Challenge: I want you to take some time this week and write down something specific that you have seen God do in your life recently. It may be in the area of relationships, career direction, answered prayers, financial provision, etc. It needs to be specific: ie. I have really seen God doing a work in my relationship with my spouse as evidenced by... not just something general like “God is really improving your relationship”. Make sure to put the date on the note and any other specifics that give the situation context. Much like Haggai 1:1 and many other passages in the Old Testament, you will be providing yourself with specific context of how you see God working in your life. This will be something that you can look back at years from now and remember that on such and such date God was doing “this specific thing” in your life. This will build faith in your life of what is possible with God.

Once you have built this habit into your life, begin doing it with others. When you see the activity of God in the life of your spouse, a friend, co-worker or child, write a quick note with specific detail about what you are seeing and give it to them. There’s an old saying that “the devil is in the details”, but actually it’s God in the details because those very details give context for the activity of God in our lives.