Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the Lord. -Haggai 1:8

God is good. All the time, God is good; God is good all the time.

In Haggai 1, the prophet spoke to the people who had been brought out of the Babylonian captivity back into Jerusalem. God had followed through on His promise to return them home, to rebuild the Kingdom, to establish a new covenant, and to prepare the place for the coming of Messiah.

Yet, even with the fulfillment of God’s promises in progress, the people forgot to return their praise to the Lord. Because they had quit building the Temple, and thus quit worshiping, God allowed financial challenges to arise in order to get their attention (Haggai 1:9).

His exhortation in verse 8 was to rebuild the Temple so that worship could resume. God’s promise in verse 8 was that if they built the Temple, God would take pleasure in it, and be glorified.

God has been good to us. He has made eternal salvation freely available through our repentance and faith, He has given us a place in His Kingdom, and He has promised deliverance from the struggles of this life.

That is the hope that drives us forward as Christians.

God has provided for us, protected us, and blessed us. What can we give God in return?

Scripture is pretty clear. What pleases God is when His people trust Him, and show others His glory.

As He said in Haggai 1:8, if they built the Temple, He would take pleasure in it.

You can give back to God. You can make Him happy. Isn’t it time you did that?

Worship the Lord. Praise God for how good He is. Show others how good He is. God will be honored and blessed by your worship.