By My Spirit
My heart has been grieved the last several weeks as another story of sexual misconduct from a prominent church leader has surfaced. What began as a tale of inappropriate sexual behavior has become a likely tale of clergy sexual abuse. It is devastating to consider the pain caused to many women at the hands of a spiritual leader. My heart breaks for these women and for the many who find themselves once again disillusioned with pastors and the church. Stories like these can cause one to ask, “Is there any hope for the church?” How, in light of so many narratives of scandal and harm, could light possibly break through? It is to these questions that the messenger of the Lord in Zechariah 4 speaks.
If you are just joining in now, we are in part 2 of a 4 part devotional series walking through a rather obscure passage of scripture found in Zechariah 4. This Old Testament passage is filled with strange imagery and metaphors, but amidst all the oddities lie powerful truths for those of us who desire to see the church of God restored and made whole. Today, we’re going to look at the second part of Zechariah 4:6. The verse reads, “Therefore he told me, “This is the Lord’s message to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by strength and not by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.” Last week we looked at the phrase, “not by strength and not by power.” We discussed the ways restoration will not come to the church, but today we want to look at the following phrase, “but by my Spirit.” Here we find the answers to the questions that plague us as we contemplate another story of spiritual abuse and religious trauma. Is there hope for the church? Is healing possible? Yes, because it is by the Spirit of the Lord of angel armies.
Though most of Zechariah 4 is rather odd, this verse in particular is actually relatively widely quoted. Most of us in ministry have been told repeatedly to depend upon the Holy Spirit, to remember that it is the Spirit of the Lord who brings about life change and salvation and the health of our churches. This verse is quoted alongside Psalm 20:7, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.” They serve as reminders not to depend upon our own strength, to not try to muscle our way through ministry, to abandon striving and the temptation to rely on human strategy to accomplish what it is God has called us to. These reminders are important and powerful, but if we’re honest, sometimes they leave us floundering wondering what exactly it looks like to allow the work to be done by the Spirit. Do we simply stop working? Do we sit back and watch for what God will do? Do we keep doing what we’re doing but throw up a cursory prayer every few minutes to prove we’re not relying on our perfectly executed strategy? Is saying that the healing of the church depends on the working of the Spirit an empty phrase that allows us to ignore the brokenness? Or does this passage perhaps invite us to something else?
As I sat with Zechariah 4 in its entirety, I noticed something interesting. While in verse 6, the Lord makes it clear that it is through the Spirit that this restoration work will be accomplished, in verse 9 we are told that it is the hands of Zerubbabel will complete the work. In other words, though it is through the power of the Spirit, Zerubbabel is still working. The reminder to depend on the Spirit doesn’t eliminate our call to work, rather it helps us reimagine how to work. For those of us who desire to see the church restored to wholeness, the call to depend on the Spirit is truly a call to discern the working of the Spirit. It is an invitation to make the Spirit the Lord of this work, to allow him to lead our every movement. To help us all do this well, I want to offer us three questions we can ask as we seek to do the work of ministry. These questions are helpful regardless of your vocation. In every area of life we are called to make the Spirit Lord, to depend upon him, and to do that we must discern how he is working. How can you begin to ask these questions throughout your days that you may rely more completely upon the Spirit?
To depend on the Spirit is to discern the working of the Spirit.
What is the Spirit’s heart for this situation (church, person, community, etc.)?
What is the Spirit already doing in this situation (church, person, community, etc.)?
How is the Spirit inviting me to join what he is doing in this situation (church, person, community, etc.)?
Where do I need to be wary of my temptation to depend on strength or power in this situation (church, person, community, etc.)?
I pray these questions help us all continue to work for restoration in ways that truly bring the healing made only possible by the Spirit of the Lord of angel armies.
