small beginnings

"Why wait until that great, climactic day when the last finishing touch is put on the temple before you begin to see the validity of your work? Begin praising God right now, and trust Him that your efforts are relevant even in this day of small beginnings."

Here's a story to get this blog going. It was in reading this story that I knew, "It's time for me to start a blog."

Zerubbabel had tried to get people to work on rebuilding the temple, but they were so discouraged that nobody wanted to work. So the disheartened governor sat down on a huge stone, looking around at the heaps of rubble from what had been a great temple before the Babylonian army destroyed it.
   "Boy, this place is a mess," Zerubbabel sighed. "Why did we ever want to come back here anyway? There's nothing left of this city worth returning to. Toppled stones and debris everywhere. This place is a disaster."
   Just then, young Zechariah, the prophet, tapped Zerubbabel on the shoulder. "Hello," he said cheerfully. "How's it going?"
   "What a disaster!" moaned Zerubbabel. "Nobody showed up for work again today. Here I am, 'the great restorer of the land of Isreal.' I'm supposed to raise up this temple to the glory of God, but I can't get anybody inspired to work on it."
   "Zerubbabel, God is with you."
    Looking up, Zerubbabel questioned, "God is with us?"
   "Of course He is. The very fact that you're no longer in captivity but are in this land is evidence of God's grace. You're a lot closer to seeing this place restored than you think you are. God says that your hands have laid the foundation of this house, and your hands will finish it. But there's something you have to do first."
   Zerubbabel moaned and shook his head.
   "No, no. Listen to me. You can do it. See that stone over there almost hidden by the grass and weeds? That's the capstone, the finishing stone for the new temple. It's the final stone the people will put into place, the stone that signifies the building is completed."
   "Yeah, OK. So?"
   "Well, God says you're to shout, 'Grace, grace!' to it."
   "To what?"
   "To the stone."
   "I'm supposed to shout to a stone?"
   "Listen to me, Zerubbabel. God said to you, 'It is not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit.' You're supposed to put your confidence in the grace of God. That's what shouting 'Grace!' is all about. Come on now. Get up and walk over there and shout, 'Grace, grace!' "
   "Zechariah, I know you mean well. But I'm already having trouble getting people to follow me. If they see me standing out here in the middle of these weeds, shouting at a rock-"
   "Zerubbabel, are you going to obey the Lord or not? Are you going to trust His grace, or aren't you? Now say it!"
   "OK. What do I have to lose? I'll do it. Here goes: Grace.... Grace....
   "No, no, that will never do. You're supposed to shout it: Grace! Grace!
   Zerubbabel's effort was less than enthusiastic. After a couple of halfhearted shouts, both stood silently looking at the stone. Finally Zechariah said, "You know what's the matter with you, Zerubbabel? You're despising the day of small beginnings."
   Zerubbabel made no reply. Zechariah continued, "Because you're not seeing a lot happening around you right now, you're counting these days as unimportant. You've thrown them away as irrelevant. But the very fact that you're here in the land is the beginning of the move of God. There is something very great He wants to perform."
   "It doesn't feel like the move of God to me."
   "That's because you're out of touch with how God sees it. You're despising what's happening now because it looks so small. It is small, but it's real; it's legitimate. All these obstacles that look like a great mountain to you are going to become a flattened plain. You'll see the day when this temple is complete and the capstone is put in place. Why wait until that great, climactic day when the last finishing touch is put on the temple before you begin to see the validity of your work? Begin praising God right now, and trust Him that your efforts are relevant even in this day of small beginnings."

This story is a paraphrase of Zechariah 4:6-10 by Mike Bickle, from his book Passion for Jesus.