The book of Ezra is a profound little 10 chapter gem of a book which records the account of a group of exiled Israelites and their arduous journey back to Jerusalem, to rebuild the temple and city. This was no easy expedition and Ezra is the man whom God raised up as the Godly leader of this willing remnant of people.
Oswald Chambers said” Thank God he gives us difficult things to do!” and a commentator notes, “I’ve learned that when God tells us to do difficult things, its because He wants us to grow. Unlike modern-day press agents and spin doctors, God doesn’t manufacture synthetic heroes, He grows the real thing.” In God’s hall of heroes we are likely to find the names of nearly 50 000 Jews who left captivity and chose to take the difficult and tiring journey back to Jerusalem.
So how did they do it? And how did they get through it? Well one thing I know can be found in verses 21 and 22 of Chapter 8. It reads, “Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods. For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against the enemy on our way, since we had told the king, “The hand of our God is for good on all who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all who forsake him.”
Before running to man, before running to others, before turning to the leaders of the day, before reverting to a good plan, Ezra called the people to go to God first and to seek Him first and to trust and surrender to Him and His ways, being sure that His hand is for good on them as they made the choice to seek Him before all else.
And the best part of this, is that this is something you and I can do as easily as making the choice to do it. Taking time to seek Him first is accessible and attainable! And the outcome? Lets look at verse 31 and 32, “The hand of our God was on us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambushes by the way. We came to Jerusalem and there we remained three days”
As we take courage and seek from Him first, He is always faithful!
hope of heart 