Not by any Other Way (Zechariah 4:6)
6 Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.
Zechariah 4:6
Time for some real talk! Have you ever been astonished at just how much things didn’t go your way? Even though somebody else that you had seen with your own eyes did exactly the same thing, with less effort, outside of a relationship with God and they prospered and did well? Consistently well? Umm?
I feel you nodding intensely! The truth is, we are chosen by God for a specific purpose that fits into His plan for eternity. It is God’s will that we are blessed and fruitful and that is what His plan entails, if we trust Him and walk with Him we will see this come to pass in a great way.
God puts it this way in John 15:16
16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.
Could it be that not everything that you get excited about is for you? Could it be that your time and energy is better spent elsewhere at this stage of your development in line with God’s purpose for your life? Could it be that there is greater for you in store? Could it be that God is saying not right now, I have another way?
One of my biggest breakthroughs came when I understood that I was purposed to do something for God and started to work towards His purpose. I didn’t say that I had figured out what the purpose was! Ah ha! I just began actively moving, getting involved in serving God and His people in any small way that I could.
Over time God did something, He started shutting doors here and opening doors there, I made peace that not everything is for me and I could not look at what other people were doing.
I had to ask God if this was a part of His plan for my life and officially partner with Him for the advancement of His Kingdom. The bible calls us labourers together with God (1 Corinthians 3:9).
I began to mature and learned that I had to trust God and walk with Him closely because He wasn’t doing the obvious thing, Jesus was doing things in a subtle and a surprising way, and He was only revealing it to me by His Spirit.
He was making a way for me and showing favour towards me in the heart of people by His Spirit, not by my will. Once I stopped reacting negatively when God shut doors in front of me, I was calm enough to see that it was the Spirit of God guiding me, steering me, ordering my steps.
I have learned that if I can trust and accept God’s yes, then I can trust and accept God’s no! It doesn’t matter how much effort and willpower you employ; it doesn’t matter how influential you are, it is only by the Holy Spirit that you will be truly fulfilled and successful in what you are doing for Him.
We can’t do life separately from God if we belong to God, even if it appears to be successful in the eyes of others.
If you are truly walking with God and try to do your own thing, you may find that you go through immense frustration beyond what is normal or that something will feel off-balance and wrong.
The internal peace and the divine enablement to prosper in the face of opposition, will not be there, even though you may expect it to be, because you are a child of God, right? But the reality is, you may be out of alignment of God’s will.
You will start yearning for the Father in everything, you won’t be able to help it, you won’t be satisfied, you may even find yourself detecting that God isn’t in this thing. And sooner or later you will have to go back to God, repent and move on to where God leads you and there is no better place to be.
There is no feeling like it when you are spending quality time with God and you receive a gentle whisper in your heart to turn your attention towards something. Then the Holy Spirit builds on it and opens it up and confirms it in a way that only you know that it’s God.
You move in obedience and faith tentatively at first, and then He opens a door for you, then comes a tsunami of abundance in areas that you didn’t even know about. You become fruitful, the response from other people’s experience with God as a result of you fulfilling your purpose will blow your mind and bless you more than you could ever think.
You also find yourself walking in joy and peace even in difficult times, as He keeps His word to work all things together for your good because you love Him and you are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).
Sooner or later, you learn that when you are called by God, it’s only for His purpose (and not our own) and it is only by the Holy Spirit that God will reveal the kind of blessings that we read about in the Bible.
Be glad about this, there are many special things that God wants to show you, that are for your eyes only! And He will only do this by the Holy Spirit.
Not by any other way.
This week let’s partner with God and ask for His purpose for our lives to be fulfilled. Let’s ask God to help us to overcome the distractions and give us focus on what He is showing us and to give us the grace to rejoice in Him despite the environment or the difficult circumstances in which we may find ourselves. Help us to set aside time just for Him so that His Spirit can guide us, and we can truly rejoice in Him.
This is God’s word spoken in love. Remember The LORD our God, He is good and His mercies endure forever. May the blessings of the LORD overtake you and come upon you and His love surround you, for His glory. Have a blessed week. In Jesus Name.