Monday, December 23, 2013 [Small Beginnings, Big Power]
"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. Nothing, not even a mighty mountain, will stand in Zerubbabel's way; it will become a level plain before him!" (Zechariah 4:6-7a, NLT)
"Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin." (Zechariah 4:10)
Recently back from Babylonian exile, Zerubbabel and a number of Jews had returned to rebuild the Temple, the place that represented the presence of God. The Temple was in ruins, much of the city was in ruins, and there was local opposition to the rebuilding efforts. Though they were making strides toward rebuilding, progress was slow, the work they had done seemed small and everything they did was difficult. It just felt like it was easier to give up than to keep going forward and finishing.
Many of us can relate to this situation, where it seemed hard to get back to God (aka rebuild the Temple). I remember when I first started reading the Bible on purpose. I say "on purpose" because I can remember times beforehand when I would just read Scriptures either once a week, only in church, and only because I had to look like I was following along. However, there came a time when I wanted my life to change and I knew that if I wanted change I had to do the things that my pastor said would cause change in me – that meant reading and doing the Scriptures. The problem was that every time I would read I could hardly understand a word that I was reading. The Old Testament (apart from the stories) was a mystery and only the Gospels made sense in the New Testament. It seemed like I just couldn't get it at times. Then there were times when I would start reading the Scriptures and I'd get so tired that I'd fall asleep after reading a verse or two. These were my small beginnings (Zech. 4:10). Nevertheless, I kept reading and asking my pastor questions at the Wednesday night Bible study. He told me to pray before I read and to ask God to help me understand. Slowly but surely, I began to understand more. I didn't realize it, but every time I prayed I was asking for the power of the Holy Spirit to understand His word. Understanding was something that I couldn't do in my own power – it came by the power of the Spirit (1 Cor. 2:14).
The discipline of reading God's word starts with small efforts and there is opposition. We're busy, we get tired, and sometimes the words are just plain difficult to understand. But, there is power available to us. God makes this power available because He knows the difficulty we face. He knows it's hard for us, but He's determined to help us get closer to Him (4:10). On my journey, I'm still asking questions, still coming across things that are really difficult to understand, and still fighting to stay in the word. The only difference is that I have learned how to ask for the power and help of the Spirit.
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1 Corinthians 2:14
"The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit."
"The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace" (Numbers 6:24-26)
Kenny Sullivan
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