INTIMIDATION! … It usually comes from one of two sources (sometimes both of them)! First from an accusation or adversary. Secondly, from the very nature of the task – daunting and overwhelming! Perhaps you have faced one or both of these sources of intimidation in the Lord’s work. In either case you were left cowering, uncertain of your abilities or ready to simply give up and give in to the adversity.
Today in my Bible reading I read an account of both – the accusation and the intimidating task. The setting? After 70 years of disciplinary exile the children of Israel have returned home to an absolute mess! Jerusalem (and the crown of Israel’s worship – the temple) are a demolished, ugly pile of rubble. The challenge? Solidify the spirit of the returned refugees under the leadership of Joshua (the High Priest or spiritual leader) and Zerubbabel (the national leader) assigned the task of rebuilding.
First of all, Joshua… He faced intimidation by an accuser (in this case Satan himself)! Joshua was not faultless – his moral and spiritual flaws were fodder for “the Enemy!” Here’s what Zechariah 3 records: “Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan (the literally the “Accuser” or “Adversary”) standing at his right hand to accuse him. And the Lord said to Satan, ‘the Lord rebuke you O Satan!’ … Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments. And the angel said, ‘Remove the filthy garments from him!’ And to him he said, ‘Behold I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments!’ … And the angel of the Lord solemnly assured Joshua, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: If you will walk in my ways and keep my charge, then you shall rule my house and have charge of my courts!’” (Zechariah 3:1-7)
And then Zerubbabel, the national leader, who faced the incredible (even seemingly impossible) challenge of rebuilding the city and temple utilizing a unsightly mountain of rubble by mobilizing a group of refugees – an intimidating task: “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts! Who are you, O great mountain [of rubble]? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’ Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, ‘The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also complete it! … Whoever has despised the day of small things hall rejoice, and shall see the plumbline in the hand of Zerubbabel!’” (Zechariah 4:6-10)
So it matters not the source of the intimidation: Whether an “accuser” (even Satan himself) or a daunting (even “impossible”) task… If God is “in it” or has commanded it, it will be fulfilled! He forgives, cleanses, and enables flawed human leaders – vindicating and enabling them in the face of accusation! He also empowers and equips leaders to tackle impossible tasks by the Holy Spirit. They are able to mobilize dispirited and frightened human resources to overcome and finish incredible tasks with God’s help – “garbage becomes grandeur” by God’s power!
Coffee With The Lord 