Whispers of His Power –  MARCH 10

Zech. 1.13:  And the Lord answered… with good words and comfortable words.

In the second year of Darius Hystaspes, ‘exactly five months after the building of the temple had been resumed’ (see Hag. 1.13-15) and two months after the last promise God gave through Haggai to the people that He would overthrow the kingdoms (Hag. 2.20, 22) the prophet Zechariah saw in a vision a rider upon a red horse ‘in a myrtle bush’ , and One whom he calls the Angel of the Lord (our Lord Jesus Christ) standing among the myrtle bushes.  Read Zechariah 1, verse 8 onwards.

He also sees an angel who interprets the vision to him.  Behind the rider on the red horse were other riders, and they tell the rider that the world is quiet.  But God had promised that in a little while He would shake the heavens and the earth, and the Desire of all nations would come (Hag. 2.6, 7).  Now the riders say that nothing of the sort is happening.

Have we not often been as perplexed as the riders were, as we thought of some promise apparently unfulfilled?  But our Lord shows us the way of peace.  He ‘answered and said, O Lord of Hosts’.  He did not answer the riders, or the man on the red horse.  He turned to His Father, just as He did in that last evening before His crucifixion.  And then among the myrtle trees were spoken good words and comfortable words.

If we are to go through our difficult times in peace, unweakened in hope, we must do what our Lord Jesus did when the riders brought their report.  Let us turn to our Father.  Then, though our questions may not be answered (there was no answer to His How long?), we shall surely hear in the depths of our hearts good and comfortable words.

oooOOOooo

These words are from ’Whispers of His Power’ a collection of writings that Amy Carmichael wrote for her ‘children’ and others associated with the Dohnavur Fellowship. and are Copyright © The Dohnavur Fellowship 1982

Unless otherwise stated, biblical quotations are from the Authorized King James Version of the Bible.

The following abbreviations are used to refer to other versions and sources:

BCP:               Book of Common Prayer, the Great Bible of Coverdale

Conybeare:       W. J. Conybeare, The Epistles of Paul (a translation)

Delitzsch:        F. Delitzsch, Notes on Job and the Psalms

Kay:                W. Kay, The Psalms (a translation)

LXX:              The Septuagint

Moffatt:           J. Moffatt, The New Testament: a new translation

Rotherham:      J. B. Rotherham, The Emphasized Bible Revised Version

RV:                 Revised Version

Way:              A. Way, The Letters of St Paul (a translation)

Westcott:         F. Westcott, Notes on the Gospel of St John

Weymouth:      R. F. Weymouth, The New Testament in Modern Speech

Young:            R. Young, A Literal Translation of the Bible

Verses of poetry without quotation marks were written by Amy Carmichael.