Observation: I'm struck by the poetic beauty of the images Zechariah puts forth. God's people are like a flock of sheep, and like the jewels of God's crown, shining on the land. Yet, in a time of anxiety, when the Persian empire is waning and the Greeks are getting set to charge through, people are turning every which way for guidance--except to the Lord who has gotten them through so much worse already.
Application: To whom or what do I turn when I really need guidance? Can I honestly say that when life gets confusing or stressful, that my first instinct is to run to God's word, to prayer, to conversation with other people of God? I would like to say I'm getting better with that. But the reality is that too often my first counselor is my own anxious mind. I'll play out a hundred worst-case scenarios before I lift any of them to God. My mind is like a sheep without a shepherd, yet God never tires of running after me. Surely goodness and mercy shall pursue me, chase after me, get me on track, again and again, all the days of my life.
Prayer: God, my shepherd, help me turn to you first instead of last. Help me check in with you regularly, and listen for your voice daily, not as medicine for a life-threatening illness, but as daily bread. Amen.
I'll date myself, but the old saying when you were in trouble, doubt, fear, etc and etc was: Do you go to the PHONE or to the THRONE?
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