Title The Blessing of Giving People
Zechariah (31) The blessing of giving people (Zechariah 10:8-12)
< The blessing of giving people >
In the text, the miraculous work of the scattered Jews returning to the old land in God's time to form a nation is described. The restored Israel will prosper (verse 8), and there will be a shortage of places to live (verse 10), and all the surrounding powers will kneel before Israel (verse 11). One of the representative blessings that God has prepared for the saints is the ‘blessing of prosperity’. The blessing of prosperity that God gives can be seen as a blessing of giving something else, such as material things, in abundance, but it also appears as a blessing of giving to people.
It is definitely a blessing to have a large crowd of people flock to the church, but then, be aware of two things. First, don't just look at the present. A large church that is losing is not necessarily more blessed than a small church that is blooming. It is important that the church has a future. Second, don't just look at it from a human point of view. From the human point of view, a church of 5,000 people can see 5,000 people, and a church of 50 people can see only 50 people, but from God's point of view, a church of 5,000 people can see 50 people and a church of 50 people can see 5,000 people.
Seek the blessing of prosperity with the right view of God. Pray for a particularly good person. Ask them to add secret devotees like Aaron, Hur, and Lydia who can fill in their shortcomings. Because of such secret devotees, my missionary work has been able to sustain up to now. Even in difficult times, if there is someone who does not leave until the end and can provide a background with prayer and devotion, he is more blessed than anyone else.
<Look only at God>
How can we obtain the blessing of giving people? When giving that blessing, God sees it as a prerequisite. It is “restored relationship with God” (verse 12). Therefore, trust God and do your best to exalt His name.
There are many people who use God's name rather than exalting God's name. Such things were prevalent in ancient times, and God even instituted the Ten Commandments: “You shall not take my name in vain!” Still, the spiritual business that uses the name of God is still prevalent. What these merchants often say is, “God has revealed it! You gave me a dream!” Of course, God can give you some dreams, but you should always understand the relative value of dreams.
The prophet Jeremiah said that dreams (dreams) are like chaff and words are like wheat (Jeremiah 23:28-29). When the soul eats the Word, it gets real nutritional value and grows healthy. If you replace words like wheat with dreams like chaff, you will soon suffer spiritually. Of course, this is not to say that dreams and revelations are not necessary. However, the problem is that there are too many people who lose their place because they are too attached to such things and lose their true blessings while living in spiritual chaos.
Don't get too hung up on miracles or miracles, but focus more on looking at God Himself. Not all miracles are God's work. Even the devil works miracles. How do you distinguish between right and wrong miracles? First of all, it is possible to discern enough by looking at how often miracles happen and whether they exalt their own name while pretending to exalt God's name, and whether they become closer to God and the Word of God through that miracle.
Not all blessings are good. To be blessed, to indulge in spiritual indolence, and to distance yourself from God is bad. Not all suffering is bad. When you get closer to God through suffering, that suffering is a good thing. So, have the faith and wisdom to use every event as a channel to draw closer to God. Rather than always pursuing a splendid and special faith, protect your soul and prepare for tomorrow's blessings through a pure and steady life of faith such as daily Bible reading and daily prayer.