Do You Need Courage?

Who knew, when Jennifer Rothschild began writing her Bible study Take Courage, on the Old Testament book of Haggai, how desperately we would need the messages of encouragement for tough times that Haggai preached!

No one knew we’d be in the middle of a global pandemic, or that we would have such turmoil in our nation! But God certainly did.

Perhaps you have faced difficulty, opposition and discouragement that causes you to question your purpose, especially as you reflect the 12 months we have just lived through. Maybe situations have not turned out like you thought they would, or how you wanted them to. Maybe you are desperately needing encouragement in discouraging times.

I am not sure I’ve ever studied Haggai in depth before, nor have I seen the connection to the New Testament in this way before. Who knew Zerubbabel was part of the lineage of Christ? Well, at least I didn’t realize that, perhaps you knew it. And I have never seen how relevant the message of the book of Haggai is to our culture today.

Zerubbabel was God’s servant, son (or actually son of the king Shealtiel), and signet ring. Similarly God identifies us as His servant, His child, and the wearer of His signet ring.

That means we are the King’s daughters, we belong to Him. As His servant, we are to do what He says…when He says it! And because we belong to Him, we can claim victory over even the demons, in His power and His name, as we behold Christ as God’s ultimate Signet Ring.

Jennifer concludes this study with the reminder, we can:

• Live alert (vigilant, not distracted)
• Stand firm (on what we KNOW, not what we feel)
• Be courageous (having an eternal focus for endurance)
• Be strong, no matter what.

We can face whatever God allows, as we walk with our eyes on eternity. God knew we’d need this message in this season, didn’t He? Do you need this message? Do those around you?

I recommend studying the book of Haggai with that in mind. Better yet, get Jennifer’s study and work through it to be encouraged to be courageous!

Banner photo by Ivan Diaz on Unsplash