Perceptions

Challenging Our Perceptions

Many of us find it hard to accept thoughts and ideas that contradict our own point of view. The Old Testament prophets had the task of confronting people with realities that were sometimes hard to take. Yet as messengers of God, it was their duty to present the truth, even if it challenged their listeners' perceptions. For example, Zechariah presented a word from the Lord to the governor Zerubbabel that confounded accepted ways of thinking. He said that:

Ultimately, brute force is not the way that God accomplishes His work. God's Spirit is the empowering agent of His activity (Zech. 4:6). Human energy, creativity, planning, and thinking have value, but they count little without spiritual strength (compare Ezek. 37:1–14).

Grace can move the biggest mountains one faces, reducing them to easily traveled plains (Zech. 4:7). Zerubbabel saw examples of this in his own day when God graciously removed a number of obstructionists who stood in the way of the temple's completion (Ezra 4:1–6:12)

Small things can be just as much an evidence of God's work as great accomplishments (Zech. 4:9–10). The temple that Zerubbabel and his people were rebuilding was a far cry from the magnificent structure of Solomon's day. Yet the project was significant because God was in it.

True standards, like straight buildings, are ultimately determined by God (Zech. 4:10). Like a carpenter using a plumbline, the Lord evaluates the whole earth. Zechariah's word was similar to Amos' description of God measuring His people's worship and integrity (Amos 7:7–9; compare 2 Kin. 21:13).

The words of the prophets, along with the rest of Scripture, are revelation from God, part of His disclosure of truths that we would otherwise not know because of sin which has blinded us (Job 42:3; Rom. 1:16–20; Heb. 1:1–2). By nature, God's Word challenges—and corrects—our perceptions. Are you willing to hear those kinds of realities? It takes humility to accept that God is right and that we are often wrong, but accepting His truth leads to life (Prov. 3:5–8).