May the mumbling commence!
To whom do you depend on for protection? It is easy to say God when times are going
well. But does our answer change when we
feel threatened? It is an important question
– one that is addressed in Ezra chapter eight.
Read a couple of passages from it below:
And there by the Ahava Canal, I
gave orders for all of us to fast and humble ourselves before our God. We prayed that
he would give us a safe journey and protect us, our children, and our goods as
we traveled. For I was ashamed to ask
the king for soldiers and horsemen to accompany us and protect us from enemies
along the way. After all, we had told the king, "Our God protects all
those who worship him, but his fierce anger rages against those who abandon
him." So we fasted and earnestly prayed that our God would take
care of us, and he heard our prayer. (Verses 21-23)
To fast and to humble ourselves
before the Lord is a good thing, right?
Generally, yes, that is true. Yet
this fasting and humbling was due to second thoughts about the protection that
the Lord will provide. Ezra and his
traveling mates were worried now that they were beyond the protection of the
king of Assyria. They walked out in the
wilderness of the world and saw enemies and bandits around every bend in the
road and just over the horizon of the hills.
They fasted and prayed for God’s
protection. And God answered their
prayers. Read about that below:
We broke camp at the Ahava Canal on April 19 and started
off to Jerusalem. And the gracious hand of our God protected
us and saved us from enemies and bandits along the way. So at last we arrived safely in Jerusalem,
where we rested for three days. (Verses 31-32)
Praise God for answered prayer! There is power in prayer. There is even more power in the unadulterated
love that God has shown us through Jesus Christ. Read from the famous love chapter of First
Corinthians… from chapter thirteen:
Love will last forever, but prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will all disappear. Now we know only a little, and even the gift
of prophecy reveals little! But when the
end comes, these special gifts will all disappear.
It's like this: When I was a child, I spoke
and thought and reasoned as a child does. But when I grew up, I put away
childish things. Now we see things imperfectly as in a poor mirror, but then we will see
everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete,
but
then I will know everything completely, just as God knows me now. (Verses 8-12)
It is love that fills the gaps in our awareness. It is love that holds us together. Everything else would be for not if love is
not evident in our relationships. Why? Love last forever. Everything else will perish.
God is love. Love
lasts forever… God lasts forever. It is
no coincidence.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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