Devotions

A Mountain too Big to Climb

Read: Ezra 5: 2, Zechariah 4:5-9



“What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain…”Zechariah 4:7

“Impossible! This will never get done! It’s too hard and there are too many obstacles in the way of success!”

Have you ever felt like that? Have you ever had a task before you that was so overwhelming it felt like a mountain too big to climb? In Zechariah 4:7 God tells Zerubbabel that He will make the mountain in front of him become a plain. In other words, God would change the mountain that was too big to climb into a flat plain which could easily be crossed.

And just what was this mountain that was before Zerubbabel? The mountain in this passage is most likely a symbolic mountain rather than a real one. If this passage is cross referenced with Ezra 5: 2, we find that the task before Zerubbabel was that of rebuilding the temple. This task (rebuilding the temple) was such an overwhelming one that it seemed like a mountain of work ahead of him! But what did God say He would do? God said He would turn the mountain into a plain. How was He going to do this? Not by might, nor by power, but by His Spirit.

Do you have a mountain of some kind in front of you? God, through His Spirit, can turn it into a plain which you can easily cross. You can trust Him with your mountains.

Prayer: Lord, You are a God who can make mountains into plains; the impossible possible. Teach us to trust you with our problems. In your Son’s name, Amen.



Thought for the Day: With God all things are possible!

Winter Thoughts

A Winter Devotion 

There’s no Place like Home

Read: Hebrews 11:9-10, 13-16

“… they desired a better country, that is a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God.” Hebrews 11:16 (NASB)

            The forecast called for snow, snow, and more snow! Sure enough, the snow didn’t stop falling for two days after 13 inches had accumulated. Schools canceled classes; businesses closed, and only emergency services stayed open. My family was snowed in for days! Fortunately, I had paid attention to the forecast and purchased enough food and milk for a week. We were also fortunate that our electricity stayed on.

So that week was spent at home. Each day we slept late, the children played in the snow and I was still able to wash their wet clothes and give them warm dinners each evening. The big snow that shut down my southern city was many years ago now but I still recall it as one of the most pleasant weeks of my life because I and mine were safe at home.  

We all have the instinctive desire to long for home. Hebrew 11 talks of men and women of faith who longed for a better home – one that is built by God Himself. Verse 16 amazes me. It says of these people that God was not ashamed to be called their God. What does it take for God to be pleased to be called your God? Do you have to do some mighty deed or achieve a high level of spirituality? No, you simply have to have a longing for a better place – a heavenly place, a city whose architect and builder is God!

Prayer: Heavenly Father, You have placed deep in our hearts a longing for home. Help us to realize this is because you are preparing a home for us. Help us to understand that we are truly strangers on this earth making our way to the city whose builder is you. In your Son’s name, Amen.



Thought for the day: There’s no place like home!