Zechariah 1:20-21
20 Then the Lord showed me four craftsmen. 21 I asked, “What are they coming to do?”
He replied, “These are the horns that scattered Judah so no one could raise his head. These craftsmen have come to terrify them, to cut off the horns of the nations that raised a horn against the land of Judah to scatter it.”
God’s people had been scattered by nations too powerful for them.
They could do nothing to stop the force of their enemies.
Suffering loss after loss, humiliation became a staple, destitution their expectation.
They couldn’t see anything higher than their norm.
When we can’t see past the obvious of our existence, we are blind to possibilities.
Blind to beauty.
Stuck in our routines and perspectives.
And that might explain something very strange about God’s response to Israel’s plight.
The answer to the disempowerment of God’s people wasn’t military.
It wasn’t political.
God’s solution to their impotence was art. Craft.
Creativity reveals truths truer than the objective world.
Art expresses realities powerful enough to unite and empower even the most discouraged and distanced.
What art can you enjoy today to lift your eyes above the discouragements of the world?
What can you create that would encourage someone?
Whether it’s flower arrangements, mowing straight lines, well-organized files, music, dance, paint, interior design, clothing or shoes, wood work or words…
Never underestimate the power of beauty and art.
They are often God’s choice tools of deliverance and connection.
Let them connect the scattered pieces of your world.
Pastor Joshua
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Leah Harvey says
Love this. Thanks for the inspiration to be creative today and find the meaning in that.
Joshua Cole says
You’re welcome, Leah. I’m glad that God spoke to us about artists and craftsmen often in the Bible to show us the necessity for creativity. It would be a dull world indeed without it.