If you’re discouraged, think of Robert Mills. In 1836 his plans were chosen for the Washington Monument. But the money didn’t come in, and construction with delayed for years. Then engineers found the ground was too soft, so the site was moved. Saboteurs destroyed a prize block of marble, and donations dried up.
Vandals defaced the monument and construction stopped again. When Mills died in 1855, his monument was an ugly defaced stump. But today visitors stand in all of the world’s tallest obelisk, and at its pinnacle are the words Laus Deo, Latin for ‘Praise be to God’.
In Ezra 4, the workers trying to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem grew discouraged, and the work stopped for many years. But God sent Haggai and Zechariah to encourage the workers, and the day came when their rebuilt temple became a pulpit for the Lord Jesus Christ.
Rather than viewing problems as obstacles, we should see them as opportunities for praising the God who works things out for our good in His timing. Discouragement drains our spirits; perseverance accomplishes the job – especially when the cry of our heart is ‘Praise be to God’.
The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former.
Haggai 2:9
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