Needed: A fresh encounter with God’s Word
written by Vijay Thangiah
Discouragement is a powerful tool of Satan. The children of Israel had returned from exile after 70 years. They had shown initial excitement about their commission to rebuild the house of God. But after repeated opposition and defeat, they gave up and focused on building their own houses.
Is this a picture of your life? Has the initial excitement of knowing the Lord and being involved in His service worn off because of past opposition and difficulties? Have your priorities changed and you are now focussing on building your own house and making your life more comfortable here on earth?
In Ezra 4: 24 we read “Then work on the house of God in Jerusalem ceased, and it was stopped until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.”
This was for a period of around 16 years.
In Ezra 5:1-2 we read “When the prophets, Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them, then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak arose and began to rebuild the house of God which is in Jerusalem and the prophets of God were with them supporting them”
God used the prophets to wake them up from their lethargy and complacency with a fresh encounter with His Word. It was so strong that the work that was stopped for 16 years resumed.
Haggai confronted the people’s sin through his preaching. Zechariah gave them hope that God had not forgotten them and would remember them and keep His covenant promises to them.
It is interesting that Zechariah’s name means “whom the Lord remembers.” His father’s name Berechiah, means “the Lord blesses” and his grandfather’s name Iddo, means “at the appointed time.” Those three names sum up the message of Zechariah: “Whom the Lord remembers, He blesses at the appointed time.”
Are you discouraged today? Are you disappointed with God? Have you given up on the things of God? Are you busy in building your own life and making it more comfortable?
Let me encourage you today to expose yourself to the truths of God’s Word. Have a fresh encounter with Him. He remembers and His blessings will come at the appointed time.