It too shall be a remnant for our God;
It shall be like a clan in Judah…
Zechariah 9: 7
For over a year now, I’ve questioned the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, who nudged me to study the book of Zechariah in depth. Zechariah, God? Are you sure? It’s too hard. I’ve got more important things to do.
I figure God’s usually too busy shaking His head at my predictable objections to bother replying. Either that or He’s chuckling at my list of suggestions about studying something else. How about something more comprehensible, like one of the gospels, or more practical, like one of Paul’s epistles?
But once in a while, God pours grace upon my skeptical head, granting a glimpse about why He encouraged my up close and personal study of a guy who died 2,500 years ago. Recently, He pulled back the veil a tiny bit to reveal His ability weave together seemingly unrelated lives and events across time and space.
The glimpse began when my friend Vicky Beer gave me a book. “I found it while we cleaned Mom’s house. It made me think of you,” she said after her mom died.
I took The Inextinguishable Symphony by Martin Goldsmith home and added it to the stack on my nightstand. It sat there for months until December when I was looking for something to read – preferably not related to special needs, writing, marketing, or Zechariah.
Goldsmith’s book filled the bill. History sprang to life as the author told the story of his parents, Jewish symphony musicians in Germany during Hitler’s rise. They met, married and emigrated to the United States on one of the last refuge ships to sail before the Nazis sealed the borders.
The parallels between Goldsmith’s book and Zechariah were striking. Over and over, the prophet repeated God’s promise to preserve a remnant from among the Jewish exiles in Babylon. He also prophesied both the triumphant arrival of the Messiah in Jerusalem and God’s plan to make other nations part of His family, too. God whispered as I read and studied. I’m working among the nations, preserving my remnant when all seems lost. I did it then. I’m doing it now. And I’m at work in your life, too.
The vast and personal reach of God’s hand is still a greater mystery to me. Why would He weave together the Babylonian exile, the atrocities of Nazi Germany, the loss of Vicky’s mom, and my Bible study to show Himself? I have no answer, just a deep conviction of God’s promise to reveal Himself when people seek Him in His word.
If you want a glimpse of God at work in your life, study His word – though you might want to start somewhere other than in Zechariah. Show up every day and read. Be patient. Wait for Him. When you least expect it and in unpredictable ways, He will simultaneously reveal Himself, become more mysterious, and grow your faith.
