Look To The Carpenter
Tuesday, September 24
Zechariah 1:17-21 (NIV)
““Proclaim further: This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘My towns will again overflow with prosperity, and the LORD will again comfort Zion and choose Jerusalem.’” Then I looked up, and there before me were four horns. I asked the angel who was speaking to me, “What are these?” He answered me, “These are the horns that scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem.” Then the LORD showed me four craftsmen. I asked, “What are these coming to do?” He answered, “These are the horns that scattered Judah so that no one could raise their head, but the craftsmen have come to terrify them and throw down these horns of the nations who lifted up their horns against the land of Judah to scatter its people.”
Devoción
In the first part of our featured verses, we see that four horns of resistance arose against Israel to divide families and the people group to discourage and defeat them. They lost their hope, their vision, and their way. The four horns came to defeat Israel and keep them from rebuilding after their freedom from captivity. Even after all these years, the enemy has not changed his tactics.
The enemy is constantly fighting against the people of God to keep us depressed and defeated, so we cannot live victoriously. If he can keep the children of the Lord from a victorious life, he can keep us from sharing the gospel with those within our spheres of influence and around the world, causing us to neglect the great commission.
Thankfully, his tactic cannot keep us down if we look to Jesus, the carpenter’s son. Growing up as the son of a carpenter, Jesus, no doubt, learned the trade from Joseph. Like his earthly father, he could take pieces of wood, even the scraps that others may deem unusable and throw away to create something both beautiful and useful.
Do you sometimes feel like you have been used up and are of no benefit? Like the people of Israel in these verses, have you lost your hope, your vision, and your way? Look to your carpenter and allow him to give you a fresh vision of who he created you to be. He had a plan for your life, including this part of your life, since before he formed you in your mother’s womb. Allow him to restore you, body, mind, soul, and spirit and he will enable you to fulfill your all-important mission in life. Allow him to take the ‘scraps’ of your life, turn you into a beautifully useful vessel, and give you life more abundant.
Oración de hoy
Querido Padre Celestial,
I am eternally grateful that You still have a plan for my life regardless of my past wrong choices or the battle scars life has placed upon me through no fault of my own. I know that Jesus made a way to take someone who is broken and battered and turn us into something both beautiful and useful. I ask You to do that for me, that I may become useful in Your hands. As I spend consistent time in Your presence, restore unto me the dreams, visions, and hopes that You planned for this time in my life. In the name of Jesus, my carpenter, I pray. Amen.
Aplíquelo hoy mismo
As you spend time with God, asking Him to restore the dreams, visions, and hopes He has planned for you, take time to jot down what He reveals to you. Pray over these daily and add others as He gives them to you. Remember, out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks, so be sure to bring your heart in alignment with His will and speak according to all that He reveals to you.
Recursos:
- Watch this short clip by Pastor Jentezen and be reminded that, “He Chose You”.
- Memorize Isaiah 41:13 and be encouraged to place your hand in God’s hand every minute of every day and do not fear, because He is your source of help.