I smote you with blasting and with mildew and with hail in all the labours of your hands; yet ye turned not to me, saith the LORD.
-Haggai 2:17
There are things that seems good to man but an abomination to the Lord. Whenever the labor of man goes against the will of God it will surely bound to fail. That is why many labored all day long but gain nothing. There are also who ran greedily on the way of Balaam for reward (Jude 11) but ends up to their own destruction. Some are those who walked in corruption, treachery and violence who faced the same condemnable fate.
Perhaps the most notable of those who labored in vain, were people who worked honestly but have gone out of the way of their vocation, for they have left their first love. They are the elect who were preordained by the Lord to work for his ministry but neglected that higher calling. So God made them unfruitful from all their works that even their cherished possessions and esteemed skills were covered with blights (Haggai 2:17). As though a whip of correction which follows them continually. Therefore, as long as they will not take heed to the voice of the Almighty they'll never accomplish anything that is worthy.
God has his own mysterious ways of calling back those who backslide on their faith. Yet, no matter how a man tried to resist his vocation, he is still bound to return to the Most High God. The Lord indeed, never holds back his rod of correction to those whom he loved and chosen (Revelation 3:19). For who can escape the calling of God? Even the prophet Jonah cannot changed nor ran away from his impending fate.
