(Zech 4:6) So he answered and 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.
We as believers usually desire to do so much good that sometimes we revert to our own energy in doing it. Then we get angry and wonder why things didn't turn out so good. Instead of getting into the flow of the Holy Spirit we get into the go of our own human spirit. We get frustrated and burnt out because it is not by might or by power but by the Holy Spirit.
The returned exiles had a lot of work to do. After spending seventy years in Babylon they were released to return to Jerusalem to rebuild their city and Temple. Can you imagine the discouragement they faced when they arrived and saw all that rubble? The Lord knew they would need a good word to encourage them. The prophet spoke and said it would be by His power and not theirs that the Temple would be built from foundation to capstone. The Lord would complete this project and the leadership would have the Holy Spirit's power to lead the operations.
How important it is to do God's work, God's way! Have you ever used a tool in a way it was not intended to be used? You didn’t want to make one more trip back to the toolbox so you used what you had and broke it! In the same way God has a work for us to do and He wants us to do it His way. Doing God’s work our way will bring failure in the task.
This idea of letting the Holy Spirit lead us also works with not only projects but also people. Only the Spirit can change a person's heart. I have to keep this in mind as I work with people and they seem to be working against me! Listen to what Jesus said about the Holy Spirit: (John 16:8) And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin . . . My job is not to play the Holy Spirit in someone's life.
Only the Lord can bring someone to salvation. (John 3:8) The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” And only the Lord can change someone: (2 Cor 3:18) But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. Better to go with the Spirit's inspiration than our own clever manipulation.
Are you tired of striving and conniving? Then step down from your role as Jr. Holy Spirit! The Lord doesn't need any of our help. We only retard His progress in the projects and people we are involved with. You can trust the Lord to work His way and in His timing. The Holy Spirit came upon Jesus in the form of a dove. Receive the gentle power you need today to serve with joy!
Louie
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