DESPISE NOT SMALL THINGS Devotion 17 of 24 Our text is a call from God to Zerubbabel and his workers to live by faith, and not by sight. They are not to be pulled aside by what they see, or judge small beginnings to be unworthy and hopeless ones. This call is certainly a pertinent one for our time, when living by faith is not at all common among professing Christians. – Tomorrow:
"Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying: "The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this temple; His hands shall also finish it. Then you will know That the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you. For who has despised the day of small things? For these seven rejoice to see The plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. They are the eyes of the LORD, Which scan to and fro throughout the whole earth." Zechariah 4:8-10, NKJV
Right here we must see the relevance of walking, or living, by faith, not by sight. This is a key aspect of spiritual life. Let me be clear about the matter. Where life is not lived by faith, the individual so living cannot please God, for "without faith it is impossible to please Him" (Heb 11:6). For those who once knew the Lord, yet are not presently living by faith, a most dreadful circumstance has occurred. They have allowed an evil heart of unbelief to enter into them, and have consequently departed from the Living God. As it is written, "Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God" (Heb 3:12). Those who do not live by faith are unbelieving. The seriousness of such a condition is seen when we consider that the "unbelieving shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death" (Rev 21:8). This is not a subject for philosophizing and disputation.
The Spirit traces the confidence of God's people to walking by faith, not by sight. "Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (FOR WE WALK BY FAITH, NOT BY SIGHT:) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord" (2 Cor 5:6-8). Those, therefore, who lack confidence and are frightened and discouraged by appearance, are not walking, or living, by faith. It is just that simple. It is not our aim to condemn such, but to urge them to be strong in faith, giving glory to God. Such timorous souls are to take all of the energy required to look upon appearance and imagine the worst, and apply it to the matter of believing God, and trusting in Him to finish the work He has started.
Living by faith is the manner of those who are justified. No other kind of life is acceptable. Both the mandate and assessment of Almighty God is this: "The just shall live by faith" (Rom 1:17; Gal 3:11; Heb 10:38). Other versions read, "BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH" (NASB), ‘The righteous will live by faith" (NIV), and "The one who is righteous will live by faith" (NRSV).
And, what does it mean to live by faith, or to walk by faith and not by sight? It means to live with God in mind rather than allowing circumstances to dominate our thoughts. It means we are motivated by faith's awareness of the nature of God and His good promises. It means we consider what God can do more than what man can do. It means that in all things, the Word of God takes the precedence over the words of men. We are thus most convinced of what God has promised than of what circumstance suggests.
Despising or disdaining the day of small beginnings is walking by sight. It is judging according to appearance, and without the promises of God in mind. Spiritual life cannot be sustained when such a view is entertained. The promises of God must be declared to the people of God!
Faith looks forward, not backward. It nurtures hope for the future, not a carnal assessment of the present. True beginnings must be viewed as precisely that: "BEGINNINGS." They are the initiation of a larger work that will be brought to completion by Divine power. Faith considers the work's completion more than its beginning.
PRAYER POINT: Father, I thank You in Jesus name for the power, encouragement, and comfort of faith.