"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."
— Ageu 1:7-8
Monday is that moment when we take a deep breath and prepare ourselves for what is to come. But what if this were not just another ordinary Monday? What if God were calling you, just as He called the people of Judah through Haggai, to rebuild what was left incomplete, what has crumbled in your heart, in your professional life, or in your responsibilities?
The context of Haggai is fascinating. The people had returned from exile, but instead of rebuilding the temple—God's house—they dedicated themselves only to their own interests. They built their wooden houses while the Lord's house remained in ruins. God does not speak in anger, but with a penetrating question: "Give careful thought to your ways." He invites reflection. What is really your priority? Where is your energy going, your time, your best hours?
What Haggai teaches us is revolutionary for a Monday: when we place God and His purpose first, when we dedicate our excellence not only to what brings us immediate gain, but to what honors the Creator, everything changes. "Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build my house" is not merely a call for physical construction. It is an invitation to elevate your purpose, to rise above the trivial, to bring the best of yourself and offer it to the Lord. And the promise is magnificent: "so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored." When you work with excellence in divine purpose, God is pleased. You are not just another employee, another frustrated entrepreneur—you are a builder of the kingdom.
This week that begins can be different. Perhaps you have set aside some dreams, some responsibilities, some relationships because you found it easier to invest in the lesser. Or perhaps you are so busy with the urgent that you have forgotten the important. Haggai invites you today to "give careful thought to your ways." What kind of legacy are you building? Do your actions reflect your real priorities? If God looked at what you invest your best energy in, would He be pleased? The call is to excellence with purpose, to work that glorifies, to the rebuilding of what matters eternally.
Do not give up on what you have started. Do not delay the work that God has placed in your heart. Monday is the perfect day to begin again, to rise up, to climb the mountain of excellence and say: "Lord, this week, my hands work for You. My dedication honors Your name. My purpose is to be an instrument of Your glory." And you will see—you will see how God is pleased and how your life transforms from within.