Zechariah 4

“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? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone with shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’’” (Zechariah 4:6–7, NKJV)

To a group of people who had become discouraged with the enormity of the task before them, God gave a word of encouragement. It had been 18 years since Zerubbabel the governor, Joshua the high priest, and the thousands of Jewish exiles had returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. And while the foundation had been laid many years ago, there was so much more work to do to complete the project.

Zechariah had a vision of two olive trees on both sides of a solid gold lampstand. A branch extended from each tree that dripped olive oil into two gold pipes. These pipes drained into a gold bowl on top of the lampstand. From the bowl, seven pipes brought oil to the seven lamps on the lampstand. For the priests who daily added oil to the lampstand in the temple, this was a dream come true! The olive trees supplied a steady stream of oil to the lamps, keeping them burning continuously.

But this vision had a much deeper meaning for Zerubbabel. It was a word of encouragement that the temple he had begun to rebuild would be completed not by military might or human power, but by the Spirit of the LORD. The work before him seemed like a mighty mountain too high to get over and too wide to get around. But this mountain would become a plain. And Zerubbabel would lay the final stone on the temple with everyone shouting, “Grace, grace to it!” No one would be able to take credit for the completed work. God alone would receive the glory.

This applies to all the “mountains” of our lives. Whether it is a besetting sin, an illness, an unsaved loved one, a broken relationship, or a deep heartache, the problem may seem utterly overwhelming to us. But that mountain is a molehill to God. The secret is that we stop leaning on the arm of flesh and trust in the Holy Spirit to give us grace to do the work. It isn’t that God does the work for us. We must do our part. But we rely upon the continual stream of grace that God supplies by His Holy Spirit.

What mountain is before you today? How can you depend upon the grace and power of the Holy Spirit to help you do the work that reduces the mountain into a plain?