zechariah

God has called you to something. There is something that moves you, that keeps you up atnight, or that makes you jump off the couch – something that you cannot help but speak up about. You may look at the work and think you can’t possibly do it, but God promises that if you will dive in and get to work, he will make sure you have what you need.

Let’s look at some examples of people doing work they were purposed to do.

Deborah was many things: judge, counselor, mediator, leader, prophetess and song writer. She was not afraid to do the work even when it meant she had to speak honestly to people in power about things they might not like. In Judges 4, Deborah told Barak that God had work for him to do. She pushed him and got him moving, but then she stepped out and let him complete that which was his to complete. Deborah led from a place of reliance on God and people looked to her for guidance because of her faithfulness and grit. Deborah was determined.

Nehemiah was so moved by the disrepair of the wall around his home country that he found funding, support and workers to rebuild it. They faced mockery and physical threats from people who opposed the work, so much so that they had to split the workforce; half would build while half stood guard. Nehemiah 4:6 says, “The people worked with all their heart,” and they kept working until the wall was done, but even then, Nehemiah kept working. Nehemiah 5 ends with, “Remember me with favor, my God, for all I have done for these people.” Nehemiah worked faithfully.

Esther found herself in what we see as an incredibly odd wife-search for the king. While she had no choice in her circumstance, she did have a choice about how much of her own history she would share. At first, she was ready to remain silent, but Mordecai sent a message admonishing her: For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place and you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this? (Esther 4:13-14 (NIV). She hesitated at first, but eventually Esther walked in to face the most powerful man in her world, the king, in order to protect her people. Esther worked bravely.

Moses was working so hard leading the Israelites that he was exhausted. He was pulled in so many directions that he was not doing any of his work very well. In Exodus 18:17-23, God sent his father-in-law to help think through a better way to do his work. Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good. You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone … select capable men from all the people … That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you.” (NIV) We see him start to delegate. Moses worked smarter.

We see David as a young man, facing down a giant with tools that one would not usually consider for such a job, but he used what he knew. Later, we see David shirk his responsibility as king. While his armies are off fighting, he stays home and his idleness draws him into infidelity and a horrible attempt at a cover-up. But as we follow David’s story, we see how he did the work he needed to do as he sought God’s forgiveness.

In Psalm 51, David says: “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love … Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight … Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.” David worked broken, but forgiven.

In Zechariah, we see the Israelites rebuilding the temple. “So he said to me, ‘This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty. What are you, mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground. Then he will bring out the capstone to shouts of ‘God bless it! God bless it!’” Then the word of the Lord came to me: “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this temple; his hands will also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you. “Who dares despise the day of small things, since the seven eyes of the Lord that range throughout the earth will rejoice when they see the chosen capstone] in the hand of Zerubbabel?” – Zechariah 4:6-10 (NIV)

Zerubbabel was discouraged, but was reminded that God would keep his promises and would finish what he’d started through Zerubbabel. He worked inspired.

God has placed some good kingdom-building work in your heart. What he has laid before you may be completely different than what he laid before your mom, your sister, or the woman next door, but he has opened opportunities to YOU for YOUR work. He did not place us where he has just so we could have some fun and post some pics on Instagram. Every experience, every obstacle, every great opportunity, has been laid out to prepare you for the work he has for you.

How are you working? Would you describe it as determined, faithful, brave, smart, inspired or joyful? Or would you use an equally positive adjective?

In chapter 4 of Zechariah, Zerubbabel was working on rebuilding the temple. (Yep, that was his real name!) Up until this point in history, Solomon’s Temple stood in the city of Jerusalem. It was the pride of the Jewish nation. People traveled great distances just to see it. It was the Empire State Building, the Eiffel Tower and the Taj Mahal of its day. But to the Jewish nation, it was much more than just a grand building, it was their center of worship. Eventually, this gorgeous temple was destroyed by King Nebuchadnezzar’s armies. After years of captivity, a new king came along and allowed some Jewish leaders to return to Jerusalem and begin the work of rebuilding the temple and the city. Work on the new temple was progressing, but the people were frustrated because this temple was not as grand as the first one, and the work was progressing slowly. Zerubbabel was leading the work and was faced with political conflicts. They were surrounded by nations that wanted him and the entire Jewish nation to fail.

For 16 years, work on the temple stopped. The surrounding nations felt like they had won; Zerubbabel and the others in charge of the project felt like failures. Most of the citizens had given up hope that it would ever be accomplished and had gone on to do other things.

But one day, the word of the Lord came to a man of God named Zechariah. At that time, that’s how God spoke to the people. He would send a trusted prophet with a message. Zechariah said to Zerubbabel, This is what the Lord says to Zerubbabel: It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. (Zechariah 4:6 NLT)

Zechariah reminded Zerubbabel that this whole project had very little to do with him, but had everything to do with God and what God wanted to happen.

Zechariah goes on to say, “Do not despise these small beginnings. For the Lord rejoices to see the work begin.” (Zechariah 4:10 NLT) The surrounding cities despised what was happening, some Jewish citizens despised it because it wasn’t as good as Solomon’s temple, and others despised it because it was taking too long. But the Lord was rejoicing over the work that had begun there – and he was promising that the work would be completed.

How often do we follow the example of this Jewish nation? How often do we get discouraged because we are comparing what we have to what someone else had before? How often do we let things less important than the work at hand distract us? How often do we think that bigger is better? How often do we give in to the belief that fast and furious is so much better than slow and steady?

But think about it, most of the things we do in life are made of small steps. Just about everything starts small – babies, buildings, cities, churches, families, relationships. Without the small steps, there would never be big things. God works in the small things. We just don’t always see him there because we are looking for bigger and better.

This story about building the temple is mentioned in seven different places in scripture (Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai, Zechariah, 2 Chronicles, Isaiah and Daniel). It was a small temple being built by a small group of easily distracted people, but it ended up being a really big deal.

God rejoices over small steps, and so should we. When we do, we may see later that the small things were actually big things.

Consider this:

What small thing are you involved in?
What do you think God may be doing through it now?
How can you better embrace the small thing in front of you?

Looking for Good

a blog by Kelli Jordan

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