The angel answered me, “These are the four spirits of heaven, going out from standing in the presence of the Lord of the whole world” (Zechariah 6:5 NIV).
God has tasks that He assigns His servants from time to time as He sees fit. The success of these missions depends on a lot of factors like faith and obedience. In this scene from heaven we are told of one important success factor. It is “going out from standing in the presence of the Lord.”
Some of us often confuse priorities when we do God’s work. We at times think too much about the work God has given to us. We pray, plan and execute as we think best. We also worry too much about results. All these have their place and none of them is unimportant. But in this confusion of good things we forget the best–God Himself.
God’s work has suffered much not because of lack of faith or obedience; but because of the lack of standing in God’s presence:
It is only when God’s servants stand in His presence that they will be able to know His mind on the work ahead.
It is only when they stand in His presence that they will be strengthened for the task ahead.
It is only when they stand in His presence that they will truly be able to purge all wrong motives from their hearts.
It is only by standing in His presence that their hearts and minds be filled with God Himself.
But sadly many run before they stand in His presence. However good the motives may be, such kind of frenzied activity accomplishes nothing for God’s glory for they carry not with them the presence of God!
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