"Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the Lord of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house."
Haggai 1:9
This is a verse that is specifically talking about building a temple to God, and because the people weren't making that a priority, God withheld his help in making them prosper. And I'm thinking that perhaps this can also be applied to other aspects of God's will besides just temple building (though I am sure it still applies to that as well). As we work for God, he works to help us.
When we put God first in our lives, and we do as he asks, making building his kingdom and doing his will a priority, then God blesses us and helps us to prosper. I think sometimes we forget that there is a cause and effect relationship there, or we just think that it is random. And I'm not saying that there is a specific ratio here, where if we show love to 4 people, we'll be blessed with 4% more financially... there is no specific ratio, and really, if we start trying to love people out of greed for monetary blessings, we're kind of going backwards. :) But there *is* a relationship here. Obedience brings blessings, and often getting out of a slump in our lives means paying more attention to God's commandments and focusing on his will rather than our own. God knows we aren't perfect, and he isn't going to make us homeless overnight for forgetting our prayers. But he is willing to help us more the more we help others, and the more we work on making things better in this world, through keeping his commandments.
Today, as we pray and ask for blessings from God, let's also consider what we can do better in our lives for him. As we work harder for God, and draw nearer to him through listening to his spirit, he will draw nearer to us (D&C 88:63), and he will bless us abundantly.
Haggai 1:9
This is a verse that is specifically talking about building a temple to God, and because the people weren't making that a priority, God withheld his help in making them prosper. And I'm thinking that perhaps this can also be applied to other aspects of God's will besides just temple building (though I am sure it still applies to that as well). As we work for God, he works to help us.
When we put God first in our lives, and we do as he asks, making building his kingdom and doing his will a priority, then God blesses us and helps us to prosper. I think sometimes we forget that there is a cause and effect relationship there, or we just think that it is random. And I'm not saying that there is a specific ratio here, where if we show love to 4 people, we'll be blessed with 4% more financially... there is no specific ratio, and really, if we start trying to love people out of greed for monetary blessings, we're kind of going backwards. :) But there *is* a relationship here. Obedience brings blessings, and often getting out of a slump in our lives means paying more attention to God's commandments and focusing on his will rather than our own. God knows we aren't perfect, and he isn't going to make us homeless overnight for forgetting our prayers. But he is willing to help us more the more we help others, and the more we work on making things better in this world, through keeping his commandments.
Today, as we pray and ask for blessings from God, let's also consider what we can do better in our lives for him. As we work harder for God, and draw nearer to him through listening to his spirit, he will draw nearer to us (D&C 88:63), and he will bless us abundantly.
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