I am with you; do not fear

Did you notice what it was that promoted the discouragement and the despair and the despondency of these people in Haggai 2:3? It is judging by comparison. They looked at the work they were currently doing on the temple in this case, and they compared it with the splendid, glorious temple that Solomon had constructed. And when they judged it by comparison, they thought that it wasn’t worth anything. Our Christian media does not always help us. What Christian magazines often do is to give us good stories, which are probably meant to be encouraging, but about Christians who have met some perplexing problem and have overcome it, and they have become successful. Now, I am not putting that down; don't misunderstand me. But after a while you can get such a steady diet of that, that you can begin to think, “Oh, who am I? I have no stories that are publishable. Why? I spend most of my time doing my daily work to earn a living and coming to weekly worship to join God's people in adoring him, and seeking to nurture my family and my children in praying with them and for them and teaching them my faith. I am just trying to maintain a consistent obedience in the midst of other troubles, but I am not very successful as a Christian.” If you are not careful, as you compare yourself to other seemingly successful types, you are going to drive yourself into despondency. You need to be careful of that, if for no other reason than that you really do not know what is going on in other believers’ lives, even ones that seem to have it all together, as we say. You don't know the pleas that they utter when they are alone with the Lord and the struggles that they go through. They may well be in just as big a mess as you are. Do not compare yourself with others, because it can only lead to despondency and discouragement. Instead, hear the promise of the Lord of hosts: I am with you. Do not be afraid!¹

Dale Ralph Davis