"Then he said to me, 'This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel saying, 'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit says the Lord of Hosts." (Zechariah 4:6 NASB1995)
I definitely had a ‘by My Spirit’ experience last week. End of the month at my current employer is crunch time and we pull all the hours trying to make quota. Now I’ve got a few decades on most of my colleagues, so between the hours and the heat, I was gassed by Friday morning, with two long shifts to go.
In an effort to rally the troops, I’d driven through the local bakery for a dozen donuts. (A little sugar and caffeine goes a long way!) As soon as the fresh pastries were in the car, their sweet aroma filled the cabin. The scent was overwhelming, and then, suddenly, I didn’t smell donuts any longer. The presence of God was more powerful in my midst! The Holy Spirit fell with such strength and might: I prayed all the way to work and had to collect myself before I could get walk into work.
Those couple moments in the car with my Creator-Sustainer recalibrated my soul. They fueled me for the long weekend ahead. (And what a marathon it was!) In a matter of a few surrendered minutes, God restored my reserves and readied my soul anew for His service.
Furthermore, someone took it up on themselves to switch the company radio station late Friday afternoon. Instead of farm reports and polka hour, the office was faintly flooded with praise and worship music. What an impact it made on morale! By the end of the day it was collectively decided, the station should remain there for Saturday, also. At some point the next day, the lyrics caught my attention.
“Are you hurting and broken within? Overwhelmed by the wight of Your sin? Jesus is calling. Have you come to the end of yourself? Do you thirst for a drink from the well? Jesus is calling.”
Elevation Worship
When we are exhausted we tend to crawl to our couch or our bed. Broken and hurting, we’d prefer to self-medicate or distract. Jesus has a better solution. He offers Himself. He asks that we bring our pain and exhaustion into His presence instead. He promises to meet us, tend our wounds and restore our strength. He empowers us by His Spirit. He sends us out renewed.
"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-ladened, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28 NASB1995)
Then in yesterday’s sermon, the preacher confirmed it. He turned to 2 Peter and reminded the congregation that in Christ we have everything we require for life and godliness. Not some of what we need, or even most of it, but everything. Why do we continually turn to lesser sources?
"Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence." (2 Peter 1:2-3 NASB1995)
Lord, please forgive us for forgetting You as our source. We get wounded and weary and we scamper off to lesser comforts. Today we recall that Your presence is our premier requirement. Help us remember to hasten to You in all conditions.
Restore us as we rest in You. Amen.