Then I looked up, and there before me was a man with a measuring line in his hand. 2 I asked, “Where are you going?” He answered me, “To measure Jerusalem, to find out how wide and how long it is.” 3 While the angel who was speaking to me was leaving, another angel came to meet him 4 and said to him: “Run, tell that young man, ‘Jerusalem will be a city without walls because of the great number of people and animals in it. 5 And I myself will be a wall of fire around it,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will be its glory within.’ 6 “Come! Come! Flee from the land of the north,” declares the Lord, “for I have scattered you to the four winds of heaven,” declares the Lord. 7 “Come, Zion! Escape, you who live in Daughter Babylon!” 8 For this is what the Lord Almighty says: “After the Glorious One has sent me against the nations that have plundered you—for whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye— 9 I will surely raise my hand against them so that their slaves will plunder them. Then you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me. - Zechariah 2:1-9

Israel had been captive in Babylon. They were free to go back to the Promised Land. God sends an angel to measure the dimensions of Jerusalem, making provision and preparing to bless them and fill the city again. Zechariah saw that the angel was measuring and plotting, but he couldn't see what he was doing it. Zechariah wasn't seeing anybody returning from Babylone. They got comfortable in Babylon. God would soon bring some back and partially repopulate the city in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. But God’s vision and plans are far greater. What he was really doing was sizing up the city, preparing it for the ultimate blessing and fulfillment in the Messiah’s return when Mt. Zion (Jerusalem) will overflow with people from all nations, and there won't be a need for walls, it will be God Himself surrounding it. God wasn't measuring the city to see how many people it would take to fit within its boundaries, He was measuring it to see how many people it would take to overflow its boundaries! God wasn’t measuring the city to see how big and long the walls would have to be built (although he would rebuild them), He was measuring it to fit Himself as it’s protection.

In Christ, you are His. You are the apple of God’s eye. He is a wall of fire around you. God is already measuring and marking his lines, making provision and preparing for an overflow of blessing that we can't see. Your life, your marriage, your family are being measured and God is fitting them for blessing and protection. We only need to stay the course and fix our eyes on Jesus. Don't get comfortable. Jesus is the blueprint. We are the paper. By grace through faith, God has written Jesus on our hearts. The blessings are in the blueprint. It is all about Jesus. Forgiveness, peace, joy, purpose, and contentment in every area of our lives are only in a relationship with Jesus. The cross is our ultimate example of God's business. God is in the business of surveying, designing, building up, blessing and protecting. If He wasn't then He would never have brought them back from Babylon and rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem in Ezra and Nehemiah. If He wasn't then He would never sent His Son to die on a cross. Jesus didn’t endure what he endured on the cross so we could have a little bit of blessing, he paid that high price so we could overflow with blessing. Jesus poured out much on the cross, and our overflow is proportionate to his pouring. His blessings won’t look like we want them to, but we can trust God that His blueprint is better than ours. Do you feel like God isn’t measuring and marking in your life? In Christ, He is. He is surveying, marking, plotting, designing, building, and protecting. You won’t always be able to see it, but you can trust Him and expect a harvest in His time. His measuring lines are perfect but how often do we try to draw our own measuring lines?

"For I know the PLANS I have for you,” declares the Lord, "PLANS to prosper you and not to harm you, PLANS to give you hope and a future." - Jeremiah 29:11