Remembering The Significant In My Day

What is going on in your life right now? You could probably list a hand full of things that have your attention. Maybe you are feeling a bit down after a disappointing Valentine's Day. Perhaps you have finance problems, health problems, relationship problems. Maybe you are over worked and under paid. It could be a simple matter of having no future, not knowing where you are going, a real lack of direction. There are lots of things that can play on our emotions, keep us down, make us feel destroyed but I want to share a small verse of the Bible that should bring much into clarity:

Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. (2 Timothy 1:10)

Read it again, this time out loud. Okay, a third time, out loud and slowly. Let the words envelop you, washing you, cleansing you from all the insignificant things in your life. Permit them to be separated from your heart because your heart was recreated to contain joy and peace. We allow ourselves to get worked up over things that have no eternal value. When we put these things up against the fact that Jesus has destroyed death and has brought to us life and immortality, they become very small and insignificant things in our life.

I am not minimizing the struggles you are going through. They are real as are the emotions and jumbled thoughts that you face each day. I am not belittling your problems and circumstances, your depression or hopelessness. I am not telling you that it is all in your head and that you should just shrug it off. I don't believe you can avoid these things at all, if you are not won over by Jesus Christ.

These things are quite natural to this world. Worry and fear are a big part of people's lives. But we are not of this world. These struggles and circumstances are not part of who we are. They have no hold on us, no power at all because we are not oriented to this place. Our hope is not found in anything here. Our security is not found in any person or institution here. Even if the authorities of this place strip us of everything we have and lock us away in the deepest dungeons, nothing can touch our joy, because we do not look for worth or rewards in this place.

It is enough for me to remember today that death has been destroyed. It is enough for me to remember that Jesus has brought life and immortality to me. Maybe there are a hundred reasons why the song in my heart should be muted as so many things try to press in on me, but there is one reason greater than any other why that song will be louder than anything else today, and his name is Jesus. He has destroyed and given to me life and immortality. I know that as hard as this place can get, my reward is elsewhere. I know these seasons will pass and the great time of deliverance will be upon us. I know that soon, very soon, I am going to see my King, who I love and serve today, here, in this dark and desperate place.

There are lots of things that can play on our emotions, keep us down, make us feel destroyed but they do not belong to us; they belong to this world. We are not of this world and do not belong to it. We belong to Jesus and that is why joy and peace are greater than anything else today. So instead of remembering these things that would destroy me, I remember my King and sing all day long.

You Are Not Insignificant

Too often we feel insignificant, a small player in this thing called life. We feel average with nothing special to offer, nothing that makes us stand out. In fact, much of the time we may even feel less than average and don't want to stand out because we have nothing to offer. If you are a follower of Jesus Christ you need to lose that attitude completely because that is not who you are. You need to spend some time in the Word, in prayer, fasting until you are changed to have Jesus' perspective on the matter, because you are not insignificant. God has done incredible things through one person simply because they were willing to believe and trust, which lead to obedience.

The prophet Zechariah had a vision in which he was given a word for Zerubbabel who was the governor of Judah. Judah was now a lowly, poor province of a foreign power and some of the Israelites were just starting to return from captivity. God chose Zerubbabel to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem but the task was huge. Who was this lowly governor of a poor state to build the magnificent, huge and expensive Temple to God? But listen to the Word that was given to him:

This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty. (Zechariah 4:6)

How quickly we forget that life is more than what we see and God is more than what we know. He isn't interested in what resources we have or what our abilities are, he is only looking for servants who are willing to believe and obey. We have nothing to offer him except our love and dedication and that's exactly what he wants. He doesn't want disobedient children who are going to argue every point with him, who are going to wrestle over everything he asks, who are going to analyze it and decide whether it is possible or not. He wants children who simply believe that what he asks is possible because it is God who asked.

Look how God speaks to the seemingly impossible task before Zerubbabel:

“What are you, mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground. Then he will bring out the capstone to shouts of ‘God bless it! God bless it!’” (Zechariah 4:7)

How many of us need that same boldness of faith while facing our mountain? Hear God speak to that thing, saying "What are you mighty mountain? Before ____________ you will become level ground. And when he completes this thing I will be glorified". But get this, Jesus has now said that YOU have the authority to speak to that mountain simply because you believe and trust God:

I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. (Matthew 17:20)

And Jesus repeats himself,

I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. (Matthew 21:21)

You, child of faith, are not insignificant or unimportant. God does more through one man or woman who acts in faith than he does through a thousand millionaires. Rise up o child of the LORD God Almighty and take your place in the ranks of the great witnesses of faith who acted on their trust in God.

Here is one little footnote I want to add. God said this through Zechariah:

“Who dares despise the day of small things, since the seven eyes of the LORD that range throughout the earth will rejoice when they see the chosen capstone in the hand of Zerubbabel?” (Zechariah 4:10)

Whatever God starts he is going to complete. Once you put your hand to the plow don't look back. When you start you have to have the resolve in faith that God is going to complete, through the Spirit, what he has begun in and through you. The "seven eyes" that Zechariah mentions here is the Holy Spirit, so the Holy Spirit in you will rejoice over the completion of what he is doing through you. Do not despise small beginnings or what looks like the insignificant. There is more going on in the heavenly realms than we could possibly imagine here in this world, and our actions, or lack thereof, impacts what is going on there.

Rejoice in your calling! Rejoice in what Jesus is accomplishing! Rejoice that you get to serve him in this manner! Rejoice that nothing is impossible for you!

I can do everything through him who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:13)