GOD IS BIGGER THAN YOU THINK! (Part IV)

GOD IS BIGGER THAN YOU THINK! (Part IV)

To briefly recap yesterday’s devotional, my original reading of Zechariah 4:1-4 led me to believe that ZECHARIAH’S VISION WAS INCOMPLETE!  Zechariah’s vision was as follows: God had shown him a DIVINE LAMP that was designed to produce LIGHT and FIRE, but noticeably ABSENT FROM THE VISION WAS ONE ESSENTIAL THING, FUEL.  Not one drop of OIL was mentioned in the vision, not one!  However, MY INABILITY TO ‘SEE’ THE OIL is in no way a reflection on GOD’S ABILITY TO PROVIDE THE OIL.  The reason why Zechariah’s vision SEEMED SO INCOMPLETE TO ME is only due to my failure to discern WHAT GOD WAS UP TO BEHIND THE SCENES! 

The reason why the vision seemed so INCOMPLETE is the mere fact that my sensory perceptions dominated my understanding.  And OUR GOD is never confined to what we humans can see, hear, smell, taste, or touch. In fact, GOD is never limited by any PRESENT CIRCUMSTANCES.  The truth of the matter is this: OUR GOD IS A FUTURE SPECIALIST!  It would seem, just as was the case with Lot’s wife, that you and I are typically fixated and focused on OUR REARVIEW MIRROR. (Genesis 19:26 and Luke 17:32) To wit, fundamentally we are TODAY SPECIALISTS, whereas our GOD is a FUTURE SPECIALIST!

THE OMNISCIENT ONE, who knows the ending from the beginning, is A FUTURE SPECIALIST.  He has KNOWN US and CHOSEN US, long before the foundation of the world. (Ephesians 1:4 and Jeremiah 1:5) And He has already walked out our LIFE’S STEPS.  “The STEPS of a good man are ORDERED BY THE LORD.” (Psalm 37:23) HE IS INTIMATELY ACQUAINTED WITH WHATEVER LIES AHEAD FOR US.

QUESTION: What does God DO to bring us into ALIGNMENT WITH HIS PERFECT WILL, i.e. to actualize His “hope and future” for us? (Jeremiah 29:11) ANSWER: GOD shows us a VISION of our future.  Much like Zechariah (and much like me), all of us can only “see through a mirror, DIMLY.”  We only “KNOW IN PART.” (I Corinthians 13:12) So whenever we seek to comprehend GOD’S VISION, we are limited by OUR KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT IS and OUR THOUGHTS OF WHAT LOGICALLY SHOULD BE.  GOD imparts DETAILED VISION, which reflects hope for all our tomorrows, but we only ‘SEE’ an EMPTY BOWL, without OIL.  We only ‘see’ EMPTY LAMPS, with NO OIL.  And our frail human spirits motivate us to question GOD: “WHERE is the OIL?”

But let’s take a closer look at the VISION that GOD imparted to Zechariah.  How I love this part!  Along with the LAMPSTAND made of solid gold, along with the BOWL, along with the SEVEN PIPES and the SEVEN LAMPS, OUR GOD included something else, something vital, something that was mission critical to the MANIFESTATION of divine blessing.  Alongside everything else in Zechariah’s vision, GOD HAD DIVINELY POSITIONED TWO OLIVE TREES!  These twin olive trees had been POSITIONED BY GOD, one on either side of THE BOWL that only ‘SEEMED’ to have NO OIL.

Now hear this!  TREES DON’T JUST SHOW UP OR SPRING UP, AND CERTAINLY NOT OVERNIGHT!  TREES ARE PURPOSEFULLY PLANTED!  Bottom-line: LONG BEFORE this PROPHETIC VISION was imparted, OUR ALL WISE AND SOVEREIGN GOD had ALREADY PLANTED AND POSITIONED OLIVE TREES which would become THE SOURCE OF THE OIL that would flow through the pipes, and fill the bowl, that would supply the lamp, that would SHINE THE LIGHT!  WHAT A MIGHTY GOD WE SERVE!  GOD IS BIGGER, much bigger, THAN YOU THINK!

Therefore, stop doubting, fretting, worrying and complaining about your present circumstances. Although your PRESENT May ‘APPEAR’ TO BE EMPTY…GOD HAS ALREADY SUPPLIED YOUR LIFE’S OIL!  He has already destined FAVOR and designed BLESSING – in, over, around and throughout your existential journey called LIFE!  I don’t care what your situation LOOKS LIKE!  WINNER-BELIVER, YOU are the head, not the tail.  YOU are a lender, not a borrower.  YOU are above, and not beneath.  YOU are blessed in the city.  YOU are blessed in the field.  YOU are blessed when you go out.  YOU are blessed when you come in.  Your body is blessed.  Your basket is blessed.  Your storehouse is blessed.  And GOD says, “I WILL COMMAND THE BLESSING ON YOU!” (Deuteronomy 28:1-14)

One of my favorite hymns offers this sound advice: “TAKE YOUR BURDEN TO THE LORD, AND LEAVE IT THERE!”  My favorite line goes like this: “IF YOU TRUST AND NEVER DOUBT, HE WILL SURELY BRING YOU OUT.  Take your burden to the Lord, and leave it there!”  my friend, GOD’S GOT YOU…so DON’T you dare WORRY.  for OUR GOD IS BIGGER THAN YOU THINK!

Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed, and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET OUR SOON COMING KING. Maranatha!