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The Day of Small Things from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.

As with many of my messages, this was a word for me, but I will share it with you as I found it encouraging. I have been building a new social media website for Refreshing Hope behind the scenes for months. It is a massive undertaking as we are merging three control panels patched together with scripts into one mobile-friendly site that can handle all our content and let us connect phone and tablet apps in the future. 

For the last two days, I have been debugging six hundred lines of javascript that mysteriously broke, and I began to feel stalled while my life drains away. Oh, I prayed, but I also told the Lord how I felt about it, how long it was taking, and why does it have to be so difficult. Then, this word came to me this morning, and I see it in a different light. Perhaps it will speak to you:

In Jeremiah, when the Lord had had enough of His people's idolatry, He elevated the kingdom of Babylon into a powerful enemy under Nebuchadnezzar. Their last siege of Jerusalem in 586 BC lasted eighteen months before they completely took the city. They destroyed the wall that had protected the city, sacked and burned Solomon's Temple, and carried all the gold, silver, and most of the people back to Babylon. This was the start of the Babylonian Exile for the Jewish people.

In Jeremiah 25:11, the Lord had said that the exile would last seventy years, and then He would bring them back to their land. After the fall of Babylon, Cyrus the Great made a decree that the Jewish exiles could return home, and the first group to return was led by Zerubbabel, a descendent of King David (Ezra 5:1). 

Zerubbabel, the governor, and Joshua, the priest, oversaw clearing away mountains of debris and rebuilding the altar at Jerusalem. They began to lay the foundation for the second temple, but things became really difficult. Their progress was slow, and they faced much opposition. Initially, there was great enthusiasm, but soon came political drama, limited resources, discouragement, harassment, and periods of general disinterest. They were trying to rebuild a destroyed city, and the local inhabitants who were now living there didn't appreciate it. 

The work on the temple dragged on slowly, then stalled. The foundation had sat there for sixteen years when the Lord sent two prophets to "encourage" them: Zechariah and Haggai. I am sure Zerubbabel's dream of building the Second Temple was all but cold and dead when the prophet Zechariah showed up and brought him a word of encouragement. He needed one.

(Zechariah 4:6–7 NKJV)  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. 'Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone With shouts of "Grace, grace to it!" ' "

An angel delivered that word to Zechariah along with a vision. Zechariah saw a lampstand with seven lamps and a bowl on top. It was supplied with oil directly through pipes coming from two olive trees. In simple words, the lamp would never run out of oil because it had an endless supply flowing into the bowl from the trees. The vision accompanied the prophecy, "Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit." Zerubbabel would finish the temple and set the capstone on top, and people would cheer. 

The "great mountain" may refer to the mountains of rubble that had to be cleared away from the destroyed city or the mountain of work that was in front of him. Either way, an anointed word from God exists outside of time, and an angel brought this word to Earth. It is still relevant today, and we can learn from it.   

(Zechariah 4:8–9 NKJV)  Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying: "The hands of Zerubbabel Have laid the foundation of this temple; His hands shall also finish it. Then you will know That the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you.

Zerubbabel's hands were pretty tired. Sixteen years had gone by, and he had gotten nowhere. Now, the Lord was saying that those hands would finish the work he had started. That would have been quite a strong word during a long dry season. The Lord brings strong encouragement like that when we desperately need it, and Zerubbabel certainly did. The prophet continues: 

(Zechariah 4:10 NKJV)  For who has despised the day of small things?

For Zerubbabel, it had been sixteen years of small things, slowly getting nowhere. In contrast, the Lord saw it as a day. There is work to be done! Get up! Get to it! Stop whining! Most of God's greatest workers had seasons of small things. "Small things" aren't mistakes or punishments but seasons of growth that prepare you for what is coming. 

David killed lions and bears, then giants, before he became King. Moses herded sheep before he shepherded people. Noah had to build the boat before he got to float. You don't want to skip to the end of your life. Rejoice in the season the Lord has given you. Don't despise today.

(Zechariah 4:10 NKJV)  ... For these seven rejoice to see The plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. They are the eyes of the LORD, Which scan to and fro throughout the whole earth."

The "eyes of the Lord" rejoiced to see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. A plumb line is a work tool, a string with a weight on the bottom used to build walls straight up. God could have easily and miraculously given Zerubbabel a shortcut and completed the temple that day. Yet, that isn't God's way. He rejoiced to see Zerubbabel doing the work.

Zerubbabel was the one the Lord had chosen to build the Second Temple, and he would complete it. Noah was the one He chose to build the ark. You don't get to skip to the end of the project. If you accept that and get in tune with what the Lord has for you, the Spirit will start flowing. It's probably something in front of you that you have been meaning to begin.

It took Zerubbabel twenty years to complete the temple, but the project had sat stalled for sixteen years when he received that prophecy, and then it was completed within four. 

There is an endless supply of oil, always enough. God has no shortage of anything except willing workers. It's not what you have or how much. It's not how smart, strong, tall, or thin you are. The Lord looks at our hearts, and we respond by doing what He tells us. It's not by might, nor power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord. 

You can pray this with me if you like: 

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You so much for another day. Please help me get in tune with what You have in store for me. I want to be a part of what You are doing. Use me, Lord. I am willing, and I am Yours. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!