Friday, December 24
Lean in
Scripture: Zechariah 3-4, John 14
Zechariah 4:6 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.
Observation
God called Zerubbabel to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. The task was far beyond his manpower and supplies, so the Lord spoke through the prophet and told him that the task would be accomplished by depending on God. “Not by might nor by power but by My Spirit, says the Lord Almighty.”
Application
I met this week with our PNW church planting movement team. We want to see 400 new missional churches launched in our region in a decade. It’s an audacious, God-sized goal. And it is completely beyond us. We were talking at our meeting about our need to depend on God and lean into prayer. So this verse spoke to me.
I am a doer by nature. Depending on God doesn’t mean that I do nothing. In fact, in Zechariah 3:7, the Lord spoke to Joshua the priest and told him that if he would “walk in obedience to Me and keep My requirements,” he would be blessed. Depending on God means that we do what He says and trust Him for the results. We do the possible—what He asks us to do—and trust Him for the impossible.
Rather than creating my plan and asking God to bless it, I want to be attentive and see what God is doing and join Him there. When He gives me something to do and I obey, I am stepping into His plan, and that’s when the impossible becomes possible.
So depending on God isn’t passive. It’s active listening, active obedience, and active trust that God will do the heavy lifting. Lean in!
Prayer: Lord, help me to be dependent and attentive, listening, obeying and trusting. Help me to step into Your plan rather than asking You to step into mine.