Zechariah Chapter 8

2-3 This is what the Lord Almighty says: I am very jealous for Zion; I am burning with jealousy for her. This is what the Lord says: I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the Lord Almighty will be called the Holy Mountain.
7-8 This is what the Lord Almighty says: I will save my people from the countries of the east and the west. I will bring them back to live in Jerusalem; they will be my people, and I will be faithful and righteous to them as their God.

This is how God feels about Jerusalem, about His people, His chosen nation (which includes us believers as descendants of Abraham) and how one day, Jesus will come to live in Jerusalem, the city he died for. He is passionate about us - sometimes that is hard to believe. After all, I know myself pretty well and sometimes, I don't like me, when I get cross and crabby, when I take out my stress and anxiety on others without meaning too, when I have no time for anyone else because I am so busy. I look in the mirror and wonder how anyone can be passionate about me, but it is just how God feels about each one of us believers.

He created us, designed every strand of our hair, every molecule on our body, the colour of our eyes, our height, the shape of our nose, our mouths, and face, anything and everything about us, He knew before we were born just how we would be. He sees us and sees someone who is beautiful, even on the inside, because we have been washed clean. He sees us as clothed in white robes of righteousness because of the sacrifice Jesus made for each and every one of us.
And one day, God and Jesus will be living in Jerusalem - just check out Revelation 21 for this. In that day, it will be as described here, people will be able to sit out in the sun, children will be able to play, it will be a safe place to live. Who can say that at the moment about Jerusalem with the news of the recent bombings and suicide bulldozer attacks and the like?

So this chapter is full of encouragement for the people, who had returned to Jerusalem, seen the devastation and were overwhelmed by the magnitude of the task ahead of them. I get like that frequently, especially with the tax credit deadline at the end of this month and the amount of work I have to get through by then. But it is a case of remembering that anything is possible for God, and with God on our side, how can we fail?