WEDNESDAY'S WORD - ENTHUSIASM - 11/07/18 - Sadell Bradley New Life Covenant Cincinnati

"The real secret to success is enthusiasm." - Walter Chrysler       I don't remember anyone telling me this stuff.  Perhaps it's because I'm a Gen X'er raised by sisters who were a part of the Greatest Generation and the Silent Generation respectively. They'd endured the depression, suffrage, world wars, Jim Crow and many other atrocities. These generations are characterized by their self-sacrificing nature. They grew up experiencing and expecting a hard life. ENTHUSIASM -intense and eager enjoyment, interest, or approval was often not available in spades. Larry David, a popular comedic writer, advocated for you to... Curb Your Enthusiasm. That's just a TV show, but it reflects back to us that enthusiasm is something that we culturally want to restrain or keep in check. People who display excessive enthusiasm are deemed  'crazy.' There are few things that evoke this emotion in me, which is a bit sad. I have been inbred with more than enough skepticism, cynicism and evil forebodings. Can others tell when we're enthusiastic? or do we hold back those feelings in case something goes wrong? If enthusiasm is the secret to success, our thoughts and expressions need to be retrained to embrace this very valuable emotion.    I was reading the book of Haggai about the remnant of exiled Israel's God-ordained project to rebuild the Temple. Haggai describes that for an extended period of time, Israel had allowed God's place of habitation to be neglected while they built and attended to their own houses. There were some who remembered the Temple in its former glory. For them, the decay of this glorious edifice represented Israel's departure from prioritizing the LORD in worship and brought feelings of dismay and grief.  They had reaped consequences for abandoning the LORD: disconnection, loss, and a lack of fruitfulness. God, who is a jealous God, had allowed them to receive the negative result of their idolatry. The small remnant of Israel who were left heard the LORD's voice, repented from their wickedness, and were ready to rebuild the Temple. They were promised that God would be with them, that He would fight for them, and that He would use other nations to amply supply what they needed. As I read Haggai 1, a single verse stood out:   14 So the Lord sparked the enthusiasm of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the enthusiasm of Jeshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the enthusiasm of the whole remnant of God's people. They began to work on the house of their God, the Lord of Heaven's Armies...(NLT)    Spark means to ignite a sense of liveliness or excitement. It was God who provided their eagerness and passion for this challenging work despite the imminent opposition. The Greek word enthousiasmos actually means possessed by God, but after a lengthy time of loss and uncertainty, sometimes it's hard for us to regain enthusiasm. There's good news. God can and will set an unquenchable fire within us that enables us to effectively do His will!

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