Readings for today: Ezra 4-6
I am turning fifty in March and as I think back over my life, I can point to many places where I faced a choice between fear or faith. When I chose the path of fear, I ended up in a dark place. I became anxious and depressed. I didn’t sleep well. I lacked motivation. I made all kinds of excuses. I blamed everyone and everything around me. My heart was full of regrets. When I chose the path of faith, I found my spirits lifted. I experienced freedom. Peace that passed all understanding. I slept well. I woke up energized every morning. I took responsibility. I owned my successes and my failures. I had no regrets. No second guessing. My life was rich and full.
Our reading from Ezra today illustrates what God’s people can do when they walk by faith. Sadly, it also illustrates what can happen when God’s people walk in fear. “Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah and made them afraid to build and bribed counselors against them to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.” (Ezra 4:4-5) Zerubbabel and leaders of God’s people had rightly rejected the offer of help from the people of the land for the god they worshipped was not the God of Israel. The people who had been resettled in the land after the Assyrian Empire wiped out the Northern Kingdom of Israel were a mixed group culled from different tribes and nations. They each brought their own ideas of god to the table and the result was a syncretized view of god that bore no resemblance to the God of Israel. If Zerubbabel allowed them to work alongside God’s people as they rebuilt the Temple, there was a very real danger that the worship of God would become polluted and corrupt. The people of the land didn’t take their rejection well. They embarked on a campaign of intimidation, threatening God’s people with the very real consequences of opposing the might of the Persian Empire. The rebuilding work was hanging by a thread.
Thankfully, there were those who chose a different path. The path of faith. Haggai and Zechariah rose up to prophesy. Prophesy in this case had little to do with future-telling and more to do with truth-telling. They preached in the name of the God of Israel. Reminding God’s people of God’s sovereign power and authority. They encouraged the leaders of God’s people to renew the work and trust in God’s faithfulness and so the work resumed. It’s important to note that the people still faced opposition. They still had to overcome all kinds of resistance. The factors that made them afraid in the first place didn’t magically disappear. The difference now was that their focus was on God and not on all the obstacles standing in their way. Their eyes were fixed on God’s mission rather than on all the reasons they couldn’t or wouldn’t be successful. Their faith gave them the strength to persevere through the challenges and setbacks rather than succumb to them.
What about you? Where does life find you today? As you think about the challenges you face in your own life, are you choosing the path of faith or the path of fear? Are you fixing your eyes on Jesus or do you find yourself consumed by all the stress and anxiety of your circumstances? Are you clinging to hope or are you paralyzed by doubt and indecision? Friends, God is with you! He promises to walk by your side every step of the way. Trust Him. Listen to Him. Lean not on your own understanding but in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.
Readings for tomorrow: Haggai 1-2