When we think about the Lord, we can sometimes be overwhelmed at His great mercy.  There are other times when we self-diagnose our worth to Him and rate our own existence, our trials, and our pain as being so great that they must be too much for the Lord of heaven. The question reveals our realization of our ability or lack of ability to accomplish His purpose and calling.  Men like Moses in Exodus 3:11, David in 1 Chronicles 29:14, and Solomon in 2 Chronicles 2:6 all asked the question.  If these great men of scripture questioned their value in accomplishing God’s purpose for their life, is it any wonder that we too question God’s plan for our life?  Rarely does our belief in our ability even come close to His belief in our ability.

This is where many individuals in scripture who also felt overwhelmed by the task in front of them. One such person was Zerubbabel who was tasked with rebuilding the temple upon the return from Babylon. He was facing not only an intimidating task of rebuilding what Nebuchadnezzar had destroyed, but faced continual opposition to the project.  There will always be opposition when we answer the call to do anything for God. Our solution is the same as that which was stated to Zerubbabel in Zechariah 4:6 “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit”. It is the Holy Spirit who helps us in accomplishing the tasks in front of us.  It is both an Old and New Testament concept that the power to accomplish His plan for our life comes through the empowering of the Holy Spirit.  Zerubbabel is encouraged that the mountain will come down and he will complete the temple with the crowning cry of grace which is translated as kindness and favor.  In other words, the favor of God would be revealed through our obedience and His empowerment of our life.  Will you allow God to empower you for the task ahead, that it might be translated to God’s favor and kindness?

Phil