Explore the Bible Series for July 22: Zechariah calls us to dependence

Posted: 7/10/07

Explore the Bible Series for July 22

Zechariah calls us to dependence

• Zechariah 4:1-14

By Kathryn Aragon

First Baptist Church, Duncanville

In a world obsessed with power and authority, independence is the goal. Success is associated with being your own boss and having the last word.

On the other hand, in God’s kingdom, greatness is achieved through total dependence on God. To the worldly mindset, this can seem like regression, not spiritual growth. Is God really calling his children to be immature and weak?

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God’s ways are not man’s ways. What appears as weakness in the world is considered strength with God. Our tendency to bring the world’s wisdom into the church, to relate to God according to the world’s values, causes us to miss the mark. God isn’t impressed by our work value or the number of hours we spend at church. God didn’t call us to be busy. He called us to be still and lean on him.

If we really want to glorify God, we need to slow down and get to know God. And then, once we have learned to lean on him for our strength, wisdom and direction, we will please him through our dependence on him and our commitment to him.

Dependence begins with trust

Let’s face it—leaning on someone demands a great deal of trust in that person. If our goal is easy religion, a concert-going mentality or punch-card religion performed through tithes and small chores, we aren’t going to achieve it.

Trust is dependence. It means placing your life in God’s hands, depending on him to keep you safe and lead you through life’s ups and downs. It’s the belief that God’s words are entirely true and trustworthy.

Sometimes the idea of God is more comforting than God himself. We want to believe in him because we need to know there’s someone out there stronger and more knowledgeable than we are.

But the actual presence of God isn’t comfortable at all. His holiness and perfection undermine our confidence and demand a response. Our relationship with him, therefore, is often stifled. At the point we decide we cannot become more like him, we raise a barrier that keeps us from having to deal with him.

If we are going to trust God, we must fully grasp his nature. His holiness isn’t meant to shut us down, and becoming more like him isn’t meant to limit us. God is good. He is nothing but good. And he desires only good for his children:

• Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. (James 1:17)

• And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)

• Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men, for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things. (Psalm 107:8-9)

Dependence seeks God’s will

If we have tested God’s strength and faithfulness and found him trustworthy, we are much more able to depend on him. True dependence demands we also allow God to direct our lives to accomplish his goals rather than our own.

God created man to fellowship with him and to bring glory to himself. Each of us was created for a purpose. “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10). Outside the will of God, it is impossible for us to achieve that purpose.

Each of us is different, created for a distinct purpose and equipped with the temperament and skills to fulfill that purpose. But uniqueness is uncomfortable. It makes us stand out in a crowd. Our tendency is to fit in, to denigrate our differences and develop our similarities. To achieve the goal of fitting in, we must look to other people for guidance. We must read magazines and watch TV to see what is socially acceptable. Once again, we miss the big picture.

If all of us would depend on God to tell us what we are supposed to look like, the world would be a much more colorful place. Instead of a vase of identical flowers, we would be a rich bouquet—some flowers small, some big, some colorful, some fragrant.

But to be comfortable with such variety, we must trust God. Rather than depending on the world to tell us what is right for all of us, we must depend on God to show us what is right for each of us individually. “This is what the Lord says—your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: ‘I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go’” (Isaiah 48:17).

God has a plan, and he wants each of us to have a part in that plan. However uncomfortable it may be to adapt our goals to God’s, there is a joy in knowing we are part of something bigger than ourselves. But it requires we take our focus off ourselves.

Dependence gives all the glory to God

When we take our eyes off God and his will, we can become obsessed with our own goals. We may continue to serve God, but without his guidance, we will serve him in ways that draw attention to ourselves rather than him. In our own strength, we can accomplish many great things for God. But all the glory goes to us.

Imagine what we could do if we allowed God to direct our efforts, depending on his Spirit as we strive—not to serve—but to glorify God. “‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty” (Zechariah 4:6). God’s will can only be accomplished when we operate in the Spirit. And that kind of dependence on God’s leadership brings the greatest glory to God.

As stated earlier, God doesn’t care about our work ethic or the number of hours we devote to him. He cares about our hearts and our eternity. That’s why he tries to keep the “work” of Christianity so simple. We are the ones who make it difficult. But we can simplify the matter if we will learn to keep our focus on God. By trusting him, allowing him to direct our lives and giving him the glory for everything we do, we accomplish everything God desires.

• “But let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the Lord (Jeremiah 9:24).

• Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will (Romans 12:2).

Discussion questions

• It’s one thing to say a wobbly chair will hold you up; it’s another thing to trust your entire weight to the chair. Do you see God as a wobbly chair, pretty enough to keep in the room, but too weak to sit on?

• What’s the standard you use to measure your actions: approval from your peers, social expectations, popular magazines, TV or the Bible?

• How do you serve God, through busyness or stillness?

• Who gets the glory?