As I was reading through today's passages I tried to picture myself listening to the prophet back when this was written. Prophets, including Zechariah were tasked with communicating God's message that could apply to current aspects of their intended audience's faith that needed to be corrected or encouraged, descriptions of near term future events (Temple being re-built), medium term events (Christ's coming), and long term promises that even today have not yet been fulfilled. We have the ability to look back at the Bible and history to see the fulfillment of the short and medium term promises, which provides assurance of the promises yet to be fulfilled. We can be assured that just as God delivered on His short and medium term promises...there are many yet to come and He is faithful to His commitments.
Zechariah 14:1- "A day of the Lord is coming," This is one of the key long term promises that we must keep in mind every day. Do we truly believe this? There are many references in scripture to the day of Christ's return...."Thief in the Night...", "No man knows the hour or the day..." I challenge myself to bear this in mind and if I began each day with this thought around Christ's return (today could be the day)....how differently would I prioritize and conduct myself?
The other key thought I took away from today's reading was around the fact that God can change the hearts and thoughts of even His fiercest enemies to fulfill His promises. In Ezra 6:22- "For seven days they celebrated with joy the Festival of Unleavened Bread,because the Lord had filled them with joy by changing the attitude of the king of Assyria so that he assisted them in the work on the house of God, the God of Israel." We cannot fully comprehend the power of God's Spirit, and we must remain faithful even in the midst of fierce opposition ...as God is faithful to His promises and demands that same faithfulness from us. Strong individuals who oppose us are no match for a God who has the ability to change people's hearts, to accomplish His will.
Prayer- Thank you Lord for your faithfulness and commitment to fulfill your promises in spite of our inconsistency. May we be reminded every day, that this could be the day of Your return and live accordingly.
3 comments:
I love seeing OT prophecy fulfilled, and it is so true that the fulfillment of the short and medium term prophecies give us certainty about the long term ones still to come. He is faithful. Are we?
The Spirit's work is incredible! Sometimes I think we fail to notice or give glory for the work of the Spirit.
Just the thought that today may be the day of Christ's return, makes me prioritize things differently. All of a sudden, some things aren't as important and others are more important. A good thought to keep in mind daily.
Prioritizing our day with the thought of Christ's return is a great point and should be excercised by us daily.
It also jumped out to me that God is powerful and able to change the hearts of anyone.
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