The Upper Room Devotional 16 May 2026, Saturday Message
A Bag with Holes
Roberta Jones (Kentucky, USA)
Today’s Reading
Haggai 1:3-6
[You] earn wages to put them into a bag with holes. – Haggai 1:6 (NRSVUE)
I still have my grandfather’s cloth seed bag that he used to store seed corn. It has a neat patch, lovingly stitched by my grandmother. My grandparents were hardworking and knew that lost grain meant less money from selling the crop or less cornbread for a meal. They would have understood the prophet Haggai when he mentioned a “bag with holes.”
Haggai spoke of lost blessings, however, not lost seeds. He urged the Israelites to follow God’s laws and enjoy God’s blessings. Instead, they disobeyed. Their spiritual life resembled a bag with holes. The former captives had returned from Babylon and built fine houses for themselves. The temple, however, remained unfinished. Disobedience ruined their lives.
I think of my grandparents and Haggai as I consider my own ways. If I neglect God’s word, I am unprepared to face serious challenges. When my spiritual bag contains holes, I lose blessings. Grandmother used a needle and thread to patch grandfather’s seed bag. For my spiritual holes, I need more Bible study, prayer, confession, Christian fellowship, and service. With God’s help, we can repair the holes in our spiritual bags so that they will overflow with God’s abundant blessings.
Thought for the Day
God’s blessings are the best gifts I will ever receive.
Prayer Focus
Gratitude for a lesson an ancestor has taught me
Read More
Appreciating Blessings
Today’s Prayer
Help us, God, to be diligent in studying and praying as we seek your will. Remind us that you take pleasure in our obedience. Amen.
The Upper Room Devotional 16 May 2026 is a daily devotional magazine published in more than 30 languages and 100 countries around the world. The daily meditations are written by readers of the magazine and others interested in sharing their faith experiences through writing—both laity and clergy, published authors and new writers. Read More