And the angel who talked with me came again and woke me, like a man who is awakened out of his sleep. And he said to me, “What do you see?” I said, “I see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold, with a bowl on the top of it, and seven lamps on it, with seven lips on each of the lamps that are on the top of it. And there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.” And I said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my Lord?” Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” I said, “No, my Lord.” Then 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 of hosts. Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain. And he shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’” Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice, and shall see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. “These seven are the eyes of the Lord, which range through the whole earth.”

I spoke with a friend this past week, who shared this passage with me, and today I read it (I actually read the first four chapters of Zechariah).

The Jews had been trying to rebuild the temple of God under the authority of Babylonians, who had conquered them. This was during the time of the prophets Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Haggai and Zechariah. And it was taking a long time, being slowed down or completely halted for periods of 10-20 years, for various reasons. Some Jews were discouraged, others did not think it was a significant thing. Maybe they asked: “Why doesn’t God just rescue us out of captivity?”

But God spoke to Zechariah here and told him to inform Zerubbabel and the Jews working on the temple that this was important work. Every piece of the work was important. Even the one who held the plumb line and went around to make sure the foundation was secure and the walls straight. He also made a definitive statement to encourage Zerubbabel, who was in charge of the building project. He told him he would indeed be the one to finish the work.

This was important, as enemies of the Jews (and their God) would try to stir up mischief and sometimes directly attack the Jews in order to keep them from the work God called them to do. And so at times, I am sure the Jews tried all they could think of to finish this project, but it did not seem enough.

So God encouraged them here. He said, “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts. Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain.”

This is such an important message for me today. I was caught trying to do things urgently, without spending my time with God this morning. And I sinned in responding to someone in frustration, instead of love. Oh, the little things, the disciplines of God, the small daily things that make a difference. God convicted me and I have asked forgiveness.

When life is hard, do I try harder in my own strength to understand, work, or just make things right? Or do I go to God and ask for his direction, his peace, his grant of rest, and his wisdom? Do I trust God to accomplish his plan with his Spirit?

Lord, thank you for encouraging me with this powerful message today. You are the one in control and I worship you. You deserve and are honored by the daily disciplines and the small things I do in obedience to you. I trust you to accomplish all that you intend in my life by your Spirit!