10/06/2026
WHEN LIFE FEELS LIKE YOU'RE PUTTING YOUR WAGES INTO A BAG WITH HOLES
The people in Haggai's day had already gone through enough.
They had returned from seventy years of exile with hope in their hearts.
They dreamed of starting over.
Of rebuilding their homes.
Of providing for their families.
Of finally having stability again.
And so they worked.
They planted fields.
They built houses.
They pursued security.
They tried to recover what years of captivity had taken away.
But despite all their effort, life felt strangely disappointing.
Harvests were small.
Resources were scarce.
Nothing seemed enough.
Money came in, but disappeared just as quickly.
And God describes their reality with words that sound surprisingly familiar:
"You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes." (Haggai 1:6)
They were not lazy.
They were not refusing to work.
They were not irresponsible.
In fact, they were busy.
Very busy.
But somewhere along the way, rebuilding their own lives had become more important than their relationship with God.
Sixteen years had passed since the foundation of the temple had been laid.
And while they had found time to improve their own homes, God's house remained neglected (Haggai 1:4).
The problem was not their labor.
The problem was their priorities.
They wanted God's blessings.
But they had slowly learned to live without God's presence at the center.
So God lovingly interrupted their routine with a simple command:
"Consider your ways." (Haggai 1:5)
Think carefully.
Look beyond your schedule.
Examine what has become first in your life.
God did not say,
"Stop working."
He did not say,
"Ignore your responsibilities."
He did not condemn homes, careers, or providing for one's family.
Instead, He was calling His people back to Himself.
Because blessing without the Blesser will never satisfy.
Provision without God's presence will never bring peace.
And success without God can still leave a person empty.
Perhaps that is why so many people today resonate with Haggai's words.
We work harder.
Yet everything gets more expensive.
We earn more.
Yet somehow have less.
We receive our paycheck.
And wonder where it all went.
Life can feel like putting wages into a bag with holes.
But God's answer was not merely financial.
His first promise was relational.
When the people responded in obedience, God did not immediately say,
"I will make you rich."
He said:
"I am with you, declares the LORD." (Haggai 1:13)
Because before God restores abundance,
He restores His presence.
Before He changes circumstances,
He calls hearts back to Himself.
And perhaps that is the message some of us need today.
Not that work is unnecessary.
Not that bills are imaginary.
Not that financial struggles are unimportant.
But that our deepest poverty is not found in an empty wallet.
It is found in trying to build life without God at the center.
Because a person may have everything and still feel empty.
But the one who has God possesses something inflation cannot increase and circumstances cannot take away.
And before God says,
"I will bless you,"
He first says,
"I am with you."
And His presence is the one treasure that never slips through the holes in the bag.
