Hebrews 4:16
Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God’s unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it].
This past week we’ve learned how empowering grace is when coupled with Holy Spirit, from saving and justifying grace, to teaching and sustaining grace. Today we’re going to learn about enabling grace, that grace that enables us whenever we need it.
The first time we see enabling grace is in Zechariah 4:6-7. Zerubbabel was the leader of the first and largest groups of exiles who went back to Jerusalem after the Babylonians were defeated by the Persians. God had instructed Zerubbabel to rebuild the Temple and once they were back in Jerusalem it wasn’t difficult to get the building project going. Before long the foundation was laid, but that’s when the problems began. The opposition came from two different places, one from the outside and the other from the inside. Once the foundation was seen and the vision of what the new Temple would look like was cast, some of the people who remembered the old Temple became discouraged. This one was much smaller and not as glorious. They felt God was not with them like He had been before. Oh, my doesn’t that sound familiar? We’re always looking at the outside and trying to second guess God when He doesn’t do something the way we think. They not only kept this disappointment to themselves, they got others to join in on their discontent, which set them up for being allowed to be attacked from the outside.
This attack came from the group that also went after Nehemiah when he led the rebuilding of the wall. When all they could do was discourage the people, they went a step further and wrote to the King saying how powerful Israelites would become if they were left to rebuild the Temple. After some research about past Kings, the Persian King agreed they were a force to be reckoned with and ordered the building to stop. And it did, for 16 years. But then God sent a prophet and reported what the Lord said, “not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit says the Lord” and he went on to tell them to lay the cornerstone and say Grace, Grace! And when they did, morale came back, they had a mind to work and complete what was started by the power of the Lord.
What may be in your life today that has been on hold? Maybe a dream, a project, a relationship just waiting to be completed. Do you have an impossible situation in your life that you are currently facing? Maybe physical, emotional, or financial, just speak Grace! Grace! to it. Allow Holy Spirit to lead direct and guide, encourage and empower you beyond anything you could hope or imagine. As Jesus reminded us, stop telling God about how big your mountain is and start telling your mountain how Big Your God Is! ( Mark 11:223)
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