The Lord will provide
Zechariah 4:10
"Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand.”
The Holy Spirit is creative:
Not by might. Nor through the power and strength of the human spirit. But the Lord will provide the way. By the strength and might of God's Spirit. The success of the thing, if it is God's grace, will depend on the people's receptivity to God’s Spirit. They can organize, they can push themselves to their limits, they can make their plans, but the Lord will anoint the work, he will make level the mountains and provide the final chosen capstone. Through Joshua God forgives the sins of his people. With Zerubbabel God sets the foundations of the temple. And by the work of The Holy Spirit, The Lord pours out his wisdom and blessings anointing the kingdom.
God's Rebuke Against the Wicked Commercial Systems
Zechariah 5:4
The Lord Almighty declares, ‘I will send it [the judgment scroll] out, and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of anyone who swears falsely by my name. It will remain in that house and destroy it completely, both its timbers and its stones.’”
The word of God and His commandments do their work, they judge the world. The spirit of Wisdom reveals the need for justice.
The Holy Spirit is Justice:
The Spirit is working to restrain the wickedness of the woman Babylon, the principle of evil, and the curse of human sin. The Spirit brings justice where the corrupt judicial system has been ineffectual. Babylon is set up in this way as a counterpart to the Holy Land and represents antagonism towards God’s purposes. There is always light and dark. And God's mercy includes grace in both situations. And it is in this aspect of God's nature that we often see so many doubters castigating The Lord for allowing the darkness to persist. But Wisdom knows that you cannot appreciate the light without the dark.
The problem of sin is insufficiently resolved merely by punishment. Even expulsion cannot remove its influence. Sin may be restrained by access, you may plug it up in a basket with a lead lid on, but it will not be eliminated so long as the spirit of wickedness still exists. Her spirit is limited by the lead, but her wickedness still radiates through it.
And The Lord Provides:
For Holiness to ultimately win the battle with sin and wickedness, and to overcome the fallen nature of mankind, God must overcome the ultimate end of these problems, death. And so, he provides the necessary means for life everlasting. This is about the reclamation of humanity in Christ Jesus.
Broadly, looking at the history of all things. One solution to the problem of mankind's fallen state is reclaim it, to reconcile the state with holiness. Another solution is complete elimination, the undoing of everything in creation and beginning again with a new state of things, not necessarily better, but different. God could build a new state of automatons who CANNOT sin and forget about his image bearers. But God chose to reclaim his creatures, and that meant that human history would have to go through a transformation and recreation. This is what all that we see happening and having happened is all about. The meaning of "life" is about the recreation of mankind, out of the darkness of wickedness and sin. And this is not an easy task.
I'll give you a hint, it requires hell to trap the dark spirits, and the ultimate elimination, and uncreation of evil in the lake of fire.
For now, we have been watching and chronicling the process of reclamation. We're watching God's creative Spirit working throughout millennia of human existence to reclaim his kingdom people one generation at a time. And just in case anyone was wondering, God told us the end of the story in advance. We know it, wickedness knows it, and the future knows it. Nothing is hidden, the meaning of life is not unknown. The promise of the coming Branch and his conquering of death is known.
So fear not, nothing you see happening today can stop what God has set into motion. He will provide what you need. You only need to place your trust in him. He gives you everything you need.
So, why would you let worry steal your breath away?
He can still your heart.
He can calm your seas.
You can trust him even when it hurts.
I hate to say it, but it's going to hurt sometimes. It's the path God chose to reclaim his people. He could have given up on us and started over, but he didn't. He chose to save us from ourselves.
When we can't see he leads us.
When we can't hear his voice guides us.
When we can't walk he carries us.
When we're lost he finds us.
And when we're weak his strength makes a way.
He gives us everything we need.
(Inspired by: Lauren Daigle's "Everything" )
When you're feeling like it's all too much to handle just remember...
Luke 15:7
In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!
God's plan seems difficult but it's fairly simple, He sent His high priest [represented by Joshua] to save the people, and he puts the plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand [which represents His work being accomplished through His people]. In other words, He's counting on you to get in Him and get it done.