"Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit," says the LORD Almighty. ~Zechariah 4:6b (NIV) In every calling there comes a point where the called questions the Caller: "Did I hear You right? But this is too hard. Surely I must have misunderstood You. Why would You call me to do something that seems so ridiculous to the rest of the world?" The temple lay in ruins, and God's people were enslaved. Everything seemed futile and pointless. But God was still at work. His Word to Zechariah was "The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this temple; his hands will also complete it." ~Zecharaih 4:8 (NIV) In the midst of slavery, oppression...hopelessness, God had a plan. A plan that must have seemed ludicrous to those who heard it. They had nothing. How could the temple possibly be rebuilt? The answer? Only by God's Spirit. It's the same for us today. Our personal strength is puny; our resources inadequate. So when God calls us to do what seems impossible, it's easy to question why. The rest of the world will question our sanity. They'll probably laugh in derision. They might even make us feel more inadequate than we already feel. It's okay. God knows what He's doing. Our strength doesn't have to be great, because we serve a mighty God. Anything He asks us to do will be accomplished not because of who we are, but in spite of it. A God-sized task can only be completed by relying upon His Spirit. So take heart. The job He's given you to do won't be accomplished by your own effort and ingenuity. Quite honestly, you and I are totally inadequate. That's okay. With God's Spirit, He can take us beyond the limits of our own resources. Heavenly Father, We praise You for who You are, and we thank You because You are our mighty God. The work You've given us to do sometimes seems overwhelming when we see the size of the task compared to our meager abilities. All praise to You, because no task is beyond the ability of Your Spirit. All we have to do is to rely upon You in faith. Help us, Father, to tackle the tasks we face this week, not in our own power and strength, but in the power of the Spirit of Almighty God. In Jesus' name, Amen