A Word from Zechariah 4

Do you ever look at the world—or maybe at your own life—and get discouraged about all the challenges that seem out of your control? After all, we’re surrounded by economic uncertainty and political dysfunction. There’s international conflict and outbreaks of disease. All of which can make us feel kind of powerless! Until we learn a lesson from today’s word in Zechariah Chapter 4.

Now, just to give a little background, Zechariah was a prophet who declared God’s word during a time that the people of Israel were coming back to their homeland after facing exile in Babylon. And to put it mildly, things were not going well. They were a weak nation, surrounded by powerful adversaries. The economy was in shambles. There were disagreements about how to rebuild. And to top it all off, the effort to restore God’s temple—which had begun with great fanfare—didn’t seem to be making any progress.

But then, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, with a message for Zerubbabel, who leading Israel at the time. And this is what God said: “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…Zerubbabel is the one who laid the foundation of this Temple, and he will complete it.” And then, this is the part that really captures my attention: “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin.” (Zech. 4:6, 9, 10; emphasis added)

You see, we may not be able to fix the world. And we might not even be able to fix our own lives! But what we can do is to offer God our “small beginnings,” trusting that He rejoices to see the work begin, and knowing that He will complete the good work that He’s doing within and around us.

So, let’s give God our “small beginnings” today and trust that His Spirit will take care of the rest. Amen.