Our Wall of Fire

Some days are much harder than others. As pathetic as it might sound, some mornings I wake up on fire about what God has done in my life and the love I have for Jesus and others I feel... less motivated, so to speak. It's shameful, I know, but it's our human nature. That's why it's an important decision to continue to read and study the Bible, even on days that we may not feel as motivated, because it keeps us grounded. Even if it is only a short, 5 minute devotional. It keeps us reminded of why we are here, who's we are, and what our mission is.. to love and serve Jesus with our lives and to bring others to Him. It keeps us humble. I have a Bible app on my phone which I often find myself reading the short, 5 minute devotions it has. Just those 5 minutes generally keep me searching for more and before I know it, I've done a full blown Bible study all through my phone. John Piper and Mark Driscoll have some great online resource tools for studying - especially if you're new to it.

I'll be honest, I don't have a clue why I just wrote that first paragraph but I'm assuming someone, somewhere needed it. It's actually not at all what I was planning to talk about. Oh, right - I was using my phone Bible app for devotions and that is where this whole train of thought led us to... I knew I was going somewhere with that. Sometimes my own attention disorder amazes me.

So I was reading in the "Finding Real Happiness" devotions by John Piper on my Bible app and the scripture for today was Zechariah 2:4-5. Quoting the end of verse 4 and all of verse 5, it says "'(4) Jerusalem shall be inhabited as villages without walls, because of the multitude of people and livestock in it. (5) And I will be to her a wall of fire all around, declares the Lord, and I will be the glory in her midst.'"

Ummm wow. Let's just analyze that briefly. So verse 4 is basically saying that God is blessing Jerusalem and the city's growth is incredible! So much growth that it has grown out of it's city walls; it is like a "city without walls." Praise Jesus, growth. It says a "multitude of people and livestock." Growing businesses and healthy, growing families. He provides to His people when they trust and obey Him. That's a sermon in itself, right?

Well there's more. On the flip side of things, so much growth that the city is growing beyond it's walls could be not-so-great. This is something we would not even consider, but in this time, a city without walls was vulnerable, susceptible to attack. A city without walls was a very bad thing. So if God was blessing Jerusalem, why would he cause them to be vulnerable to attack?

It was a test of their trust in Him. He says next "I will be to her a wall of fire all around." Not only is he promising to be Jerusalem's wall, Jerusalem's protection, He is saying He will be a wall of FIRE. What enemies can pass through FIRE? This promise reminds me of Chris Tomlin's song And If Our God Is For Us. If God is for us, who can be against us? Who can stand against us?

As if that wasn't enough, He finishes the promise with "I will be the glory in her midst," saying He will not only bless us for obedience, protect us from adversity, but be the glory in our midst. Our glory: our triumph, our splendor, our happiness, our object of pride. Who can not love a God like that?