Title: God's Three Great Blessings
Zechariah (29) God's three great blessings (Zechariah 9:11-17)
1. Blessing of Liberation
The Lord releases the prisoners from the waterless pit (verse 11). How miserable would it be to be trapped in a waterless pit? But as miserable as being trapped in a waterless pit, being trapped in your own unhappy thoughts and thinking about money. Happiness doesn't depend on whether you have money or not, but rather, "Are you locked in money? Isn't it?" If you are locked in money, your chances of happiness are significantly reduced, but if you are not locked in money, your chances of happiness are significantly increased.
When it comes to money, there are two types of people. There are ‘people who follow money’ and ‘people who follow money’. Don't be a 'money follower', be a 'money follower'. If you follow money, even if you have money, there is no joy and satisfaction, but if money follows you, your joy and satisfaction double. After all, not living by money is the way to get real blessings.
Salvation includes the history of breaking the bonds of all kinds of misery. Get rid of your unhappy minds and thoughts now and enjoy true freedom. Freedom and indulgence are different. True freedom comes when we surrender our freedom before God (v. 12). In particular, dedicating the first hour of the day to God is a daily confession of surrendering one's freedom to God. If you live with such a confession, God will surely take charge of your life.
2. Blessing of Identity
What is your identity? Identity and rewards are different. Shinwon is the history of resolving the resentment of the saint and making his heart cool, but the reward is the history of seeing faith and devotion and raising him to a glorified position. When you are faced with an unfair thing, entrust it to God. If you take charge of the work yourself, you have no identity and you will be destroyed first, but if you entrust yourself completely to God, you will have the grace of redemption (verse 12). In particular, God's identity and reward unfold beyond human imagination.
When my eldest daughter was in kindergarten, a fire at a training center in Hwaseong killed dozens of children. A week later, my first daughter went to a nearby training center. At that time, the director of the kindergarten my daughter attended at first tried to go to the retreat where the fire broke out, but he was not happy with the accommodation, so he moved the place. Even in that case, I feel the grace of God's recompense. Such grace in a similar way is still unfolding innumerable times. God will surely remember every drop of tears and devotion from the saints and use them as materials for tomorrow's blessings.
3. Blessing of companionship
In verses 16-17 of the text, the four rewards that will be given when God is with us are well expressed. First, it shines. It means to exalt your name. Second, you will get frustrated. There are many ways in God. Third, it becomes beautiful. Trust is the basic element of attraction. Fourth, be strong. If you have good faith, God will also give you health in body and mind. There are rewards, but the greatest blessing is that the Lord walks with you every day.
No matter how hard you go through, it's only temporary. Don't be too heartbroken. Conversely, no matter how happy you are, it is only temporary. Don't get too excited. The important thing is to make every day a good day. How do you make every day a good day? It's quite possible. Of course, every day is not an easy day. Nothing in this world is easy. You can still make every day a good day. You just need to walk with the Lord and live.
Make each day a good day by starting each day with the Lord and ending the day with the Lord. As a practical principle, start each day with the Word and prayer and end the day with the Word and prayer. The first 5 minutes and the last 5 minutes of the day are the most important. Dedicate that time to God. God's presence filled in that time makes every day good. As such, live every moment of each day in the supreme bliss of walking with God.