Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts. Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain. And he shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’” (Zechariah 4:6-7 ESV)
Zerubbabel was the Governor of Judah. He was a descendent of David, and He was called by God to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem.
The task ahead of Zerubbabel was huge, but God’s grace which enabled him was even bigger. In fact, we know that Matthew 19:26 says, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” That truth applied to Zerubbabel, it applies to us today, and will apply to future generations until Jesus returns for His Bride.
Has God ever asked you to do something that seemed impossible to you? What was your response to Him?
I didn’t have any aspirations of writing a book, or founding a ministry, but God’s plan for my life has included both of those things. I live in the knowledge that God has anointed and enabled me to do those things, and I have faith that He will do exactly the same with any future plans He has for me.
I began the writing process very early in 2009 when I felt the Lord speak to my heart that He wanted me to write about some of my life experiences, and His faithfulness to me. I didn’t know why God was leading me to do it, but I had some sense that He had a purpose for it that I was unable to see at the time. Despite my apprehension about my own ability to do whatever it was that God had planned, I began to write what I would only call “documents” at the time. I didn’t know what else to call them.
I continued to write these “documents” for about two years when God began to show me His plan. In 2011, during a Bible Study about the work of the Holy Spirit, I felt the Lord impress on my heart that my writings were to become the basis of chapters in a book. Over the next while, He began weaving my “documents” together to become “Our Father: A Personal Journey of Discovery into the Lord’s Prayer.”
My first response to God about the task of writing a book, was to think I had heard Him wrong. My words were something like, “yeah right, me write a book,” followed by laughter at the thought. My next response was to give God a list of people that I felt would be better for the job than me.
After I got over the shock and repented for my lack of faith, I simply had to surrender my doubts, my fears and my “why me’s” to Him. Then my genuine response could be, “Father, I’m willing to do anything You ask of me, but I can’t do it without Your help. Please help me.”
After I committed to God that I would write a book, things didn’t necessarily come easily. I made numerous attempts to get my foot in the door the traditional way, but was told “we aren’t accepting unsolicited manuscripts at this time,” at every step. God was faithful to providing a way. For a season, it seemed as though every website I looked at had ads for Supported Self-Publishing of Christian material. Long story, short…God made His plan known to me, and in November 2013 my book was published by Westbow Press.
The following month marked the birth of the Non-Profit Organization that I feel the Lord has intended for me to establish. That process has seen numerous challenges as well, but we became incorporated in May of this year.
Zerubbabel could not have accomplished the Lord’s assignment of rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem in his human strength or ability. I was incapable of fulfilling the Lord’s plan for my life as well. However, under the power and anointing of the Holy Spirit, we were both empowered to do things which would be impossible in our human weakness.
He will be faithful to empowering you just as much for any task that He asks of you. Just remember, God is fully able to do “far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us” (Ephesians 3:20 ESV)
My prayer is, “Heavenly Father, thank you for calling me to do extraordinary things. I am willing, but I can’t do these things without You. When obstacles appear in my path, please give me the faith in You to persevere and see the work to completion. In Jesus’ Name, AMEN.
