Who of you have read “Table Talk” by Martin Luther? This book had almost gone into extinction due to the edict passed by Emperor Rudolph II to burn all copies and put to death all who would be found in its possession. However, God’s providence overturned men’s schemes. Several years after the edict had gone forth, a certain man from Germany found a High-Dutch version of the same book secreted somewhere within an old building. He then urged his friend from England, named Captain Henry Bell, to translate the book into English. Bell agreed, but temporal pursuits prevented him from fulfilling the sacred duty. He could find no time to complete the work.
Bell himself further narrates that, after six weeks of procrastination, one night while upon his bed, an ancient man appeared to him in a vision. He was wholly dressed in white, and he addressed him in the following words: “Sirrah! Will you not take time to translate that book which was sent unto you out of Germany? I will shortly provide for you both time and place to do it.” The man then disappeared. Two weeks later, Captain Bell was arrested, without being told of any accusation. For ten years he remained in jail. There indeed he found time and place, and he translated the book. It was then multiplied again.
Have you ever had a lesser encounter, but similar to that of Captain Bell? Perhaps not an imprisonment and seeing a vision, but an experience where, through your own selfish excuses, you neglected the work of God, and He, in His mercy, put all your temporal endeavours to a stop, in order that you should return to His work. From now on, look closely at what befalls you. “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness” is an exhortation that instead of bringing us to poverty, only leads us to a life of success and happiness, because to it is attached the promise “and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matthew 6:33
We fear to sacrifice our time for the work of God, fearing that we may lose temporal acquirements, not knowing that the same sacrifice required of us is the secret for obtaining the blessings of the Lord that make life meaningful. Many years ago, I was so touched when I read and understood the following verse: “The fear of the wicked (or what the wicked fear), it shall come upon him: but the desire of the righteous shall be granted.” Proverbs 10:24
The Jews in the time of Prophet Haggai had not yet learned the main lesson in the paragraphs above. Discouragements caused them to frame excuses for not doing the work of the Lord. They began to say, “The time is not come, the time that the Lord’s house should be built.” Haggai 1:2. They went to their homes “to dwell in. . . ceiled houses” while the house of the Lord was in shambles (verse 4). They were now working tooth and nail in their farms, expecting prosperous returns. Others went to do work for others. But they were blinded to the fact that their conduct was counterproductive to any real success in life. “Now therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways. Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.” Haggai 1:5–6
A human may not understand, but to the all-wise and all-loving God, these calamities upon His own people were the best means to restore the deceived ones to their stewardship. We read further, “And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labour of the hands.” Haggai 1:11
The Jews then awoke to the sense of their misery: “and the people did fear before the Lord.” They repented of their deeds, “and they came and did work in the house of the Lord of hosts, their God.” Haggai 1:12, 14
“Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall know them? For the ways of the Lord are right, and the just shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall therein.” Hosea 14:9
Just as Sister White had put it in one of her writings: we are slow to learn such lessons, but very quick to forget them. May God help His people. May we pray for increased faith in us—faith that will see beyond the sacrifices and obstacles of today, to the abundant blessings, satisfaction, and happiness that will come upon us tomorrow, not forgetting the bliss hereafter.
“Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways.” Haggai 1:7. If you have left your post of duty, dear reader, look and see your current situation. It may be that the Lord, in His love, is allowing you to face all that you are facing now in order to draw you back to Him. But men have a tendency to attribute all that befalls them to natural causes. This is a sad mistake indeed. (It should be emphasized that not all calamities we face are due to our misconducts and sins; neither are they all due to natural causes).
I would like to close the discourse with my own experience. There have been times in my life when I would find myself in a dilemma—not because I knew not what to do, but because my resolution to prioritize God’s work seemed to be overborne by the carnal urge to dedicate a lot of time to my academic pursuits at the expense of those religious duties. However, every time I put school first, I met with loss. The studies and tasks became difficult and tedious. I believe that in all these occasions, the Lord in part removed His helping hand, so that I could only partially manage my studies alone. I would then begin to realize that the cause for all that was my own unwise choice.
Then in my feebleness, I would start to cling to God’s promise found in Mark 10:30, assuring us that whosoever makes a sacrifice—be it houses, lands, father, et cetera—“shall receive an hundredfold now in this time. . . and in the world to come eternal life.” I would then resolve to sacrifice all the time needed to complete my religious duties, and I would ask God to reward me the time spent, a hundred times, according to His promise. Whenever I did this, He rewarded me—not giving me more time for my studies, but the same academic task which would take me three days to complete, I would just find myself having completed it in a few hours.
We may not receive a hundredfold at once, but this promise is sure. He reserves these other portions for the future (whether in this life or the next).
Brothers and sisters, may the Lord help us to dedicate our time, strength, and everything needful to His work, in all our times of peace. For no pretext should we defer His work. Wait not for a time when God’s anger—yet prompted by love—should cause Him to speak to you: “I will provide you with time to do My work.”
Amen.
By Emmanuel Salamba (Malawi)