What Does Zechariah 4:6 Mean?

Then he said to me, "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel saying, 'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the LORD of hosts.

Zechariah 4:6(NASB)

Verse of the Day

An amazing message was given to Zerubbabel (a descendent of king David), who having returned from the Babylonian captivity to govern Jerusalem, was the one chosen of God to start rebuilding the Jewish Temple. He was told by Zechariah the prophet that God would carry out the work: "'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the LORD of hosts."

This divine revelation is as relevant today as it was centuries ago, for we must all come to an understanding that the Lord Himself will carry out His plans, which He alone has purposed: not by might nor by power, but by the grace of God's Spirit alone. Zerubbabel was not told how God was to carry out His plans and purposes for, like us, he only saw through a glass darkly. Nevertheless, his responsibility, like ours, is to live by faith in God, to trust the Word of the Lord, and to believe all that God has told us.

God is working His purpose out as year succeeds to year, but we are not always party to the plans that God has purposed in the counsel of His own will. However, we are His workmanship. We are the spiritual Temple of God that is being built together by His Holy Spirit. God's work is not carried out by the cleverness of men or the influence of their mighty ministries; we are being built together by the work of the indwelling Spirit of God. We are the Body of Christ. We are the Church of God that is quietly being built into His eternal dwelling place, precious stone by precious stone.

Zerubbabel faced tremendous difficulties as he sought to carry out the work that God had prepared beforehand for him to do, but he was given an assurance that he would complete the task that God had set before him, not by might nor by power, but by the Spirit of God.

We too face increasing pressures in our own day and age and at times, we too may be tempted to consider that the task of living by faith and trusting the Lord is overwhelming in the midst of a crocked and perverse generation. Nevertheless, this Word from the Lord is as true for us today as it was so many centuries ago, that God Who started a good work in us will complete it in the day of Christ Jesus: "'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the LORD."

My Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for the encouragement that I get from the Word of God which is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword. Thank You that I am equipped to carry out Your work in my life, not through my own might, cleverness, or intelligence, but through Your Spirit Who lives in me. Thank You, in Jesus' name, AMEN.

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