Week of Prayer, Day 3: Understanding Ourselves
— Meditation —
The prophet Haggai was sent by God to speak to Israel at a moment of complacency. The people had grown sluggish in their devotion and inattentive to the work God had given them. They were investing their time and energy in building beautiful, comfortable homes for themselves, while God’s house—the temple—lay in ruins.
Take a slow, unhurried moment to meditate on Haggai’s message below:
Now this is what Yahweh Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.”
This is what Yahweh Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build my house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored,” says Yahweh.
Haggai 1v6-8 (NIV)
— Devotional —
Have you noticed how capable people are of understanding almost everything—except themselves?
Many of us spend years developing expertise in industries, systems, technologies, social movements, sports, or celebrities. We can even become experts on other people. Yet when it comes to our own inner lives—our motives, desires, and the reasons we do what we do—we often remain surprisingly unaware.
That is where Israel found itself in the days of Haggai. Having recently returned from exile, the people rebuilt the city of Jerusalem with impressive speed. But the most important project of all—the rebuilding of the temple—remained unfinished. “The time has not yet come to rebuild the Lord’s house,” they thought (v2).
There were excuses, of course. Opposition. Fatigue. Delay. Ultimately, though, it just… wasn’t done.
And no one could quite explain why.
“There are three things extremely hard, steel, a diamond, and to know one's self.”
— Benjamin Franklin
Why is it so difficult to gain an accurate view of ourselves?
Part of the reason is that we are hard-wired by the Flesh to imagine ourselves as better than we actually are—a distortion Scripture labels pride. One secular study confirms this: “People’s opinions of themselves, their abilities, and their health outlooks are generally skewed quite strongly in a positive direction. Such errors in self-assessment can have serious consequences…” (Association for Psychological Science).
But sometimes our self-understanding skews in the opposite direction. Theologian Anthony Hoekema notes that some Christians “seem to have a self-image that is much more negative than positive, since, when they look at themselves, what is in the center of their field of vision is their continued sinfulness and inadequacy rather than their newness in Christ” (Created in God’s Image). Here is one of the insidious effects of Sin: condemnation.
Both distortions—thinking too highly of ourselves or too poorly—can cause real damage, either in the soul or in our decision-making.
Paul’s counsel is therefore instructive: “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment” (Romans 12v3). In other words, learn to know yourself truthfully. Or, in Haggai’s words, “Give careful thought to your ways.”
The question is how.
“The heart is deceitful above all things
and beyond cure.
Who can understand it?
I Yahweh search the heart
and examine the mind.”— Jeremiah 17v9-10
Haggai eventually led Israel to “give careful thought to their ways” by bringing them into the presence of God.
“I am with you,” the Lord said to the people—a comforting and yet sobering reminder. “And the people feared the Lord” (Haggai 1v12–13). But it did not stop there. The text goes on to say that God stirred the spirit of the leaders and the people. From that moment, everything began to change. They returned to the work and finished the rebuilding of the temple.
In the same way, we come to know ourselves truthfully not through introspection alone, but in the presence of God. As we allow the word of God to speak into our motives, desires, and hidden reasons for doing what we do, our self-understanding is clarified. What was stalled is stirred to movement.
The result is transformation, both in the soul and in the decisions we make.
May we, too, give careful thought to our ways today.
— Prayer —
Inviting God to know us and reveal hidden things to us takes a lot of courage and time. Use this prompt as a guide to submitting your own view of self to him today.
1. Begin by assessing your own understanding.
Haggai tells the people to “give careful thought” to what they are doing—and why. Consider the circumstances of your life right now. Without self-judgment, reflect on your motivations and your reasoning.
Some questions to ask: Have your decisions been made wisely, or rashly? Have you been acting out of love, or reacting out of fear? Have you chosen to serve and bless, or to take and indulge?
2. Ask God for help in knowing.
It may be difficult to answer these questions with confidence. Fully knowing ourselves is hard. Turn now to God and ask for his help. Echoing Psalm 139, pray, “Search me and know me.” Invite the Lord to reveal what you are afraid—or unable—to see in yourself.
3. Welcome God’s direction.
Whether through Scripture or by his Spirit, pay attention to what God brings to light. Receive that disclosure with gratitude. Pray simply, “Thank you for showing this to me.” Then seek to accept God’s direction with humility, laying down any pride that rises up in you.
Spend some time in unstructured prayer, speaking honestly with God about your desire to live as he has directed.
[Pray out loud] God of wisdom,
Thank you that you know me and still love me. Give me understanding and wisdom so I can walk in truth and righteousness—rather than distorted by pride or condemnation. Show me the path I should take today.
Amen.
