Secure The Right Bag

Haggai 1:2-6
2 Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘These people say, “The time has not come that the Lord’s house (temple) should be rebuilt.”’” 
3 Then the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying, 
4 “Is it time for you yourselves to live in your [expensive] paneled houses while this house [of the Lord] lies in ruins?” 
5 Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, “Consider your ways and thoughtfully reflect on your conduct! 
​6 You have planted much, but you harvest little; you eat, but you do not have enough; you drink, but you do not have enough to be intoxicated; you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm enough; and he who earns wages earns them just to put them in a bag with holes in it [because God has withheld His blessing].”

In the culture, the phrase "secure the bag" most commonly refers to getting money or the things we believe are valuable according to our human desires. When we close a business deal we say, "The bag is secured." When our money is low, we say "My bag is light." When we are in a posture of pursuit of revenue or some goal of ours, we say "I'm chasing the bag". When we want to encourage each other to stay focused on the goal, we remind each other that above all else we need to zero in and "get the bag".
With a Kingdom mindset, I am reminded of God's word about truly securing the bag. Instead of spending our lives chasing the bag that we believe is secured by our professional networks, our superior talents, our track records, or our finesse, it's time that we recognize that God is the bag. 
With God, all things are possible (Matthew 19:26). His word promises that if we delight ourselves in Him, He will give us the desires and petitions of our hearts (Psalm 37:4 AMP). What does it mean to delight ourselves in Him? When I consider the word "delight" used as a verb, to mean "to take great pleasure" or "to give keen enjoyment", I understand that when we take pleasure in seeking God as the thing that we are after, He will give us all that we want.  It makes perfect sense to me. When God knows that what delights Him, also delights us, He can trust us to give us whatever we ask.
His word in Mark 11:24 AMP assures us of this:
"For this reason I am telling you, whatever things you ask for in prayer [in accordance with God’s will], believe [with confident trust] that you have received them, and they will be given to you."

My encouragement today is for everyone of us who is up and at it today chasing the bag. I'm not saying that you won't see success in your worldly endeavors. I'm not saying that what you are after has no worth. I'm simply saying that at some point, we all have to consider our ways and understand that only what we do to build up and fortify the Kingdom of God is truly secure (Haggai 1:6). It's obvious that we can secure the bag on the world's terms, but that bag has holes in it. Let's set our minds and condition our hearts to take delight in a life of Godly pursuits (Matthew 16:23). This way our bags our eternally secured (Matthew 19:16-30).

Be Blessed!
~Nina

Declaration: I am delighting myself in Godly purpose and pursuits, so that my bag is eternally secured.