“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 seven capstones in the hand of Zerubbabel” – (Zechariah 4:10)
Setbacks are common to life. Perhaps you once started on a task and it has faced obstacles along the way, derailing it. Do not give up.
Maybe you could look to Zerrubbabel, the leader of the people of Judah, who was called by God to begin rebuilding the temple after exile in Babylon. Perhaps he imagined it a quicksand project. Yet what was clearly a call from God and a good work at that would take 17 years to see to completion!
When he first raised a foundation Zerubbabel found his people giving him little credit. “But many of the older priests and Levites and family heads who had seen the former temple wept aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid…” (Ezekiel 3:12). Later some people set out to discourage him. “Then the people around them set out to discourage the people of Judah and made them afraid to go on building” (Ezra 4:4).
Any of us here could relate. Who has not handled that job which didn’t go to plan! But just as Zerubbabel faced a setback and eventually overcame, you too should have faith God will see you through. As the word of the Lord says: “being confident in the day that he who began a good work in you will carry it to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil 1:6).
Prayer for today: Lord Father God of Abraham, maker of heaven and earth, today I pray to hold on to that dream you have given me and will see it to completion however long it might take, this I pray in Jesus’ name.
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09/05/2024 - 10/05/2024 All day“The LORD will send rain at the proper time from his rich treasury in the heavens and will bless all the work you do. You will lend to many nations, but you will never need to borrow from them” (Deuteronomy 28:2 NIV)
For some reason very often some Christians are found despising the importance of being enterprising. To some being enterprising
can be equated to the love of money and it’s pitfalls (1 Tim 6:10). There are some Christian communities where running enterprises is frowned upon as being overtly worldly. On the contrary, far from it, being enterprising is clearly an avenue God has given believers to raise resources for their well being and promotion of the rich Gospel.The Bible is full of enterprising characters who were used mightily of God. Abraham was apparently a good rancher that he “became very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold” (Gen 13:2). Job was hated by Satan who sought to destroy him because “He owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 teams of oxen, and 500 female donkeys. He also had many servants. He was, in fact, the richest person in that entire area” (Job 1:3). The Lord Jesus Christ was born and raised in the house of Joseph, the carpenter (Mathew 13:55). Carpenters do not create works of beauty to donate for free. To prosper they must run sustainable enterprises which pay taxes and make profit.
The Apostle Paul would often rely on enterprising people to support him in his ministry. One of his worthy converts “was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house” (Acts 16:14).
Though Paul was a ranked Jewish legal scholar once he went to the mission field, other than cling to his titles by burdening his hosts he often dabbled in tent making to support himself. In Corinth he teamed up with an amazing couple, Priscilla and Aquila, and “because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them” (Acts 18:3). This couple run a successful tent making business that enabled them support mission work.
And then of course, there is the noble woman of character, as told in Proverbs 31, who “selects wool and flax and works with eager hands. She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar. She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings.. She sees that her trading is profitable...She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes (vv 13-25). What better illustration is there to emulate being enterprising.
When the body of believers is filled with enterprising people it generates resources important for church upkeep. Further, the work of God is then supported without being dependent on sources that might compromise the mission, as sometimes we see!
Prayer for today: Lord father God of creation, as we see in scripture you have given us the gift of enterprise, and so, I pray to use this gift such that you bless me as you did to our father Abraham and all other great saints before for the glory and expansion of your kingdom, this I pray in Jesus’s name!
