Day 357
Zechariah 4:1-5:11; Revelation 14:1-20; Psalm 142:1-
7; Proverbs 30:21-2
Strong or Weak?
“’Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts.” – Zechariah 4:6b
From Genesis on, the Bible reveals what happens when mankind tries to do things in its own strength and power. Adam and Eve try to grasp knowledge for themselves. The participants in the Exodus make and then worship a worthless god in the wilderness. The kings of Israel disastrously try to protect themselves by making allegiances with foreign powers. The people of Israel continue to make worthless gods and worship them. The Pharisees try to control the people’s worship and behavior through myriad legalisms.
And yet we also see throughout Scripture that the Lord does great things through the seemingly weak and insignificant. He chooses one weak in speech to exhort a people and lead them out of slavery. He chooses a young shepherd boy to be the greatest king. He uses a powerless woman, captive in a foreign land, to rescue her people from extinction.
And ultimately God Himself comes in great weakness as a newborn babe and dies an apparently powerless death on a cross in which, paradoxically, the greatness of His power is revealed. Why would we trust in our own spurious power when the thundering witness of Scripture is that when we are weak and surrendered to God, His power is made perfect in and through us?
Almighty God, keep us from vainly grasping after power in our own strength, rather teach us to become weak by completely surrendering ourselves to you so that your Holy Spirit may come in great power and work through us. Amen.
The Rev. Sarah Bronos
Church of the Good Shepherd
Maitland, FL