Wake Up Call
Monday, April 15
Zechariah 4:1-5 (AMPC)
”And the angel who talked with me came again and awakened me, like a man who is awakened out of his sleep. And said to me, What do you see? I said, I see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold, with its bowl [for oil] on the top of it and its seven lamps on it, and [there are] seven pipes to each of the seven lamps which are upon the top of it. And there are two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl and the other upon the left side of it [feeding it continuously with oil]. So I asked the angel who talked with me, What are these, my Lord? Then the angel who talked with me answered me, Do you not know what these are? And I said, No, my Lord.“
Devotion
In today’s passage what we find here is that the Lord sends an angel to give Zechariah another vision. But this time, unlike the previous, we learn the condition in which the angel finds Zechariah.
Zechariah says the angel “roused me, as a man who is awakened from his sleep (verse 1).”
The implication here is that Zechariah had either grown apathetic, or discouraged. Being asleep in Scripture often pictures a person who isn’t as focused and ready as they should be.
It is very likely that Zechariah found himself there. He knew what God wanted – He wanted the temple rebuilt and divinely chose Zechariah to take part in doing so. Zechariah’s temptation was to get discouraged and fall into apathy. Yet the Lord sent the angel to awaken him and to get him on the alert. The angel is about to explain to this discouraged prophet how this seemingly impossible mission is about to be accomplished, and it has a lot less to do with him, and more to do with the powerful Spirit of God that is about to work through him.
Paul says in Romans 13:11 “Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed.”
We need the Spirit of God, not only to make known to us divine things, but to make us take notice of them. What has the Lord awakened you to take notice of and what are you doing about it? We have no luxury of apathy in the times we are in. We must put our faith into action and say yes to what the Lord is asking of us.
When the Lord speaks to us, we can rest assuredly that He already has the equipment you need in His Word to accomplish it. Isaiah 50:4 encourages us that, “The Lord Yahweh has equipped me with the anointed, skillful tongue of a teacher — to know how to speak a timely word to the weary. Morning by morning, he awakens my heart. He opens my ears to hear his voice, to be trained to teach.“
We should plead to God that, whenever He speaks to us, He will awaken us, and we should then stir up ourselves and say “yes Lord I am coming” (Isaiah 6:8).
Today’s Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father,
I thank You for Your word in Scripture and for so clearly revealing Your will and Your ways to me through it. Help me to be attentive to Your will as revealed in Scripture. Help me to say “yes” to the fruit of the Spirit and “no” to the desires of the sinful nature. As I am transformed by the renewing of my mind, determined not to conform any longer to the pattern of this world, help me to test and approve what Your will is. Let Your living water flow through me by Your word and by Your Holy Spirit. In the Name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.
Apply It Today
It is tempting to read today’s encouragement with familiarity. Yet, each of us, literally, has less time remaining on earth than we had yesterday. Has God been bringing something to your attention, and your thought response has been, “Yes, I know, but …” or “I’ll get to it…” Awaken yourself and consider what your response should be. Can you pray today’s prayer honestly and cooperate with what God has shown you to do?
Resources:
- If you missed yesterday’s message, be encouraged to watch it wherever you are, “Small Talk From Angels.”
- Read Psalm 91:11-12, and let the revelation of God’s angels watching over you bless and strengthen you right where He has you.