Imagine the temple lying in ruins, and having to be rebuilt from the ground up. That’s what things were like when Zechariah shared his vision with the people of Israel. Some thought it couldn’t be done, and others thought that their particular contribution would make no difference. So Zechariah challenged them in these words: ‘Does anyone dare despise this day of small beginnings? They’ll change their tune when they see Zerubbabel setting the last stone in place!’ Sometimes we can feel like there are too many changes we need to make to our lifestyle, our relationships and our faith. It’s at that point we need to choose to rebuild. And that can feel pretty overwhelming. Maybe we don’t know where to start, or we can’t see how such a huge task is even possible. But making changes to our lives is a process. Rebuilding takes time and patience. It’s a step-by-step thing. Even the smallest change we make in our lives is important. We may feel like we’re not advancing quickly enough, that we’re failing because we’re taking such small steps. But God doesn’t see it like that. He takes us on a journey, and He’s gentle with us. He only helps us change and rebuild things at the pace we can handle. The Bible tells us that ‘he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion’ (Philippians 1:6 NIV). God doesn’t start working with us and in us, to leave us halfway through, He doesn’t give up on us because we’re taking too long to change. So when we find ourselves in a place where we need to begin to rebuild, let’s remember Zechariah’s words and avoid despising the ‘day of small beginnings.’
