During one of my morning walks, I came upon a lost dollar bill laying on the pathway before me. I picked the dollar bill up and inspected it. It was drenched with dew, so I knew it had been laying there all night. As I walked along a little further, a chill went down my spine as I remembered a dream I had the night before.
In my dream, I was walking with a friend along a pathway. I had a dollar bill in my pocket. When I reached in to get it, I discovered it was missing. I looked back on the path behind me and saw it laying on the ground. I went back and picked it up, stuck it back in my pocket and continued to walk along the path with my friend. A minute later, I reached into my pocket and discovered that the dollar bill was missing again. I thought to myself, “How did that dollar bill just disappear?” I looked back on the path behind me once more and there laid the dollar bill on the ground. I picked it up, put it back in my pocket and then discovered the cause for its continued disappearance … there was a big, gaping hole in the bottom of my pocket. And, just like that, the dream was over.
As I thought about how strange of a coincidence it was that I discovered the lost dollar bill that morning, I couldn’t help but wonder if there was some kind of message in the dream. I remembered an Old Testament scripture, found in the book of Haggai, that talked about people having pockets with holes in them, so I looked the scripture up. Here’s what it said:
“You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it. This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build my house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored,” says the Lord. “You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?” declares the Lord Almighty. “Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house.” Haggai 1:6-9
What a convicting word. In this scripture God is telling His people that they were more concerned about their own homes and their business than about God’s house and His business. As a result, blessings were being withheld in order to get their attention … so they could see their misplaced priorities. That’s why it seemed like they were putting their money into purses with holes in them.
“Lord, I’m convicted by this thought … that the reason I sometimes struggle financially is because of my misplaced priorities. I’ve been seeking MY kingdom first instead of YOURS. Forgive me. I commit myself to follow the words of Jesus, when He said, ‘Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.’” (Matthew 6:33)
