Follow God’s Urging

After your heart has been broken encountering roadblocks in trying to respond to God’s call, it can be very difficult to get started once again. However, if God is urging you to push forward, to get going again, you must. Even if the circumstances look like they haven’t changed, God is at work.

At the same time Tattenai the governor of the province Beyond the River and Shethar-bozenai and their associates came to them and spoke to them thus: “Who gave you a decree to build this house and to finish this structure?” They also asked them this: “What are the names of the men who are building this building?” But the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews, and they did not stop them until the report should reach Darius and then an answer be returned by letter concerning it. – Ezra 5:3-5, ESV

In the first couple of verses of Ezra 5, we’re told that God reached out through his prophets and leaders to get the people started in the rebuilding of the Temple. So far as they were aware, there had been no change in the edict from Artaxerxes. In fact, there hadn’t been. Yes, there was a new king, Darius, but they had no indication that he favored their restarting the work. Yet they got started because God directed them. Then it happened again.

The adversaries arose including the head of the province, Tattenai. Those adversaries demanded to know who gave the Israelites permission to restart the work. Of course, the answer was no one did that Tattenai and his crew would accept, for it was God. What the adversaries did next was not surprising: they collected names. The folks who were working on the Temple were going to be reported.

At this point, a lot of people would have decided it was time to get scarce. They would be afraid of the might of the government and they would try to flee and escape whatever punishment the government wanted to mete out. In this case, we’re told that the elders, and therefore the people under them, did not stop work and would not stop work until they got the response back from Darius. So not only did they restart after such heart break, but they continued the work under duress.

God would not disappoint. He would move Darius to order the work be completed and further that the adversaries in question help but not hinder. The adversaries were told to stay away but provide whatever the Israelites needed with respect to money, supplies, and offerings. He would actually use the prompting of the accusers against them. God would see His Temple rebuilt. That’s why, if God is directing us in a direction, we should go. Nothing might have changed to that point, but going forward God will ensure the right changes happen. This can be especially hard after heartbreak, to get started again, but God delivers on His promises. If He is prompting us to restart, He will provide the means to complete that which He has called us to do. The history recorded in Ezra is just one example. There are a multitude of examples in Scripture. It all boils down to us trusting Him to deliver. He will.

Don’t Lose Hope

One of the most devastating experiences you can face is when things are going well after you’ve waited so long for something to happen and then you hit a major road block. Maybe it’s trying to start a family and after overcoming problem after problem, you finally get pregnant… only to lose the baby. Or it’s getting a new job after weeks or months of unemployment, only to find when you get there that there is no longer a spot for you.

It’s easy to lose hope in those cases. It’s very human to feel all that frustration very, very deeply. What makes things worse is if that roadblock is a long term one. You’ve just gotten started and then you’re shut down. And you have no idea if you’ll ever be able to get started again. It’s understandable if you feel like giving up.

Therefore make a decree that these men be made to cease, and that this city be not rebuilt, until a decree is made by me. And take care not to be slack in this matter. Why should damage grow to the hurt of the king?” – Ezra 4:21-22, ESV

The Israelites had made progress. The altar and the foundation for the Temple had been rebuilt. Then those who were opposed to the rebuilding of the Temple, adversaries of Judah, sent a message to the new king over Persia, Artaxerxes. They pointed out how Judah had risen up in the past. The adversaries naturally neglected to point out that Cyrus had commissioned the work in the first place. With their carefully crafted message, the adversaries succeeded in getting Artaxerxes on their side. He then issued a decree ordering all work to be stopped. I’m sure the news had to be devastating to those who had waited so long, who had returned so triumphantly, and who had poured their hearts into the rebuilding of the Temple.

Here’s where, from a human perspective, we’d probably say further progress was impossible and we’d give up. The wonderful thing about God is that He can do what we think is impossible. He didn’t send His people back to fail. He wanted His Temple rebuilt. It would take some time. Artaxerxes would pass from power and Darius would become the new guy in charge. God would call Nehemiah to go down and rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and jump start the rebuilding. In the end, the Temple was completed. It was completed because God desired it so.

This is what we need to cling to as Christians when hard times come upon us. It’s what we grasp when we think we’re moving forward, only to be stopped once again. If what we are doing is God’s desire, He will bring it to pass. We have hope, Him, even when things look the bleakest. Don’t lose hope.

Redemption Is Coming

Ever been in a bad situation for more than a short time? How about a series of bad situations, all compounding on one another? Feel like giving up? Feel like there’s no point in hoping any more? The truth is, a lot of folks have been there. It doesn’t matter how rich or how poor you are. It doesn’t matter how many friends you do or don’t have. It doesn’t matter how famous you are or aren’t. We can all get down. We can all feel like hope is slipping away – or it’s already gone.

I’m sure quite a few of the Israelites in exile felt this way. As Judah they had withstood Assyria but fell to Babylonia. Babylonia had fallen to Persia. What hope was there? Return to Israel? Rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple? Those situations coming to pass probably felt far-fetched, despite the promises in Scripture. However, what God commits to, He delivers.

“Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel—he is the God who is in Jerusalem. And let each survivor, in whatever place he sojourns, be assisted by the men of his place with silver and gold, with goods and with beasts, besides freewill offerings for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.” – Ezra 1:2-4, ESV

Cyrus began his reign as king over the Persian Empire and in the first year of that reign, he decided to honor God and allow any of the Israelites to go back and rebuild the Temple. Ezra tells us in verse 1 that God made this happen to fulfill a promise He made to Jeremiah. It had been so many years in exile. It had been so many years without the Temple. We can’t blame any of the Israelites for losing hope, for feeling like it was never going to happen. We would be hard pressed to feel differently. Yet God brought Cyrus to the scene. Not only did Cyrus permit the Israelites to return, he also ordered that they be assisted in the effort. The promised redemption had begun.

God is this way with all of His children. When He promised redemption, He meant it. There is ultimate redemption, the saving of us from our sins. But there is also day-to-day redemption. God delivers His grace on us so often that we have grown very blind to it. We take things for granted. That’s why when we take a hit, when bad stuff happens, we can get down and we can even feel like there’s no hope. I’m sure Satan does us no favors and probably “heaps on” the hurt to drive us further down, to keep our heads lowered so we don’t raise them up and cast our eyes upon God.

Redemption is coming. Not only the final redemption, but redemption in earthly situations, too. Even in situations of our own causing, there is some sort of redemption. Situations of our own causing, where our sin must be brought to account, there is punishment but there is still redemption. Redemption doesn’t mean we escape earthly punishment. Redemption means that even in those situations God is still working on us. He’s still loving on us. He’s still guiding us and teaching us. He’s still changing us to be His people. Redemption is coming. It came for the Israelites and it will come for us. Let us not cast our eyes down but instead turn them up to our Lord.

Faith Overcomes Fear

Fear is a natural human reaction. It is built into us to keep us safe. However, fear can cause us to do very dumb things. Fear can paralyze us when we need to move. Fear can also cause us not to go along with the plan God has for us.
However, fear can be overcome. Sometimes a sense of purpose can overcome fear. Sometimes a love of those who will be hurt if we don’t act can overcome fear. But perhaps that which we identify most with and what seems to work most often is when something or someone comes along that counters the source of that fear. For instance, when we were children, if another kid was bullying us and a teacher or other authority figure showed up, we weren’t so afraid any more. This is where faith comes in.

And the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out to meet Ahaz, you and Shear-jashub your son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Washer’s Field. And say to him, ‘Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands, at the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria and the son of Remaliah. – Isaiah 7:3-4, ESV

Isaiah was supposed to give Ahaz some commands. Note the first two: be careful and be quiet. Ahaz was in a tough spot because nations were allying against Assyria. Israel and Syria wanted Judah to join in. Ahaz, king of Judah, had refused to join the alliance and thus these two nations were going to draw Judah in by force. There were two temptations: to give in and join the alliance or to panic and join with Assyria. God was telling Ahaz to do neither. Ahaz was to stand pat. God also told Ahaz through Isaiah that Ahaz was not to fear and not to worry, the second two commands. Syria and Israel were all bluster. They couldn’t accomplish their threats. They would not succeed.

Why not? Simply because the Lord wouldn’t allow it. Verse 7 captures these words, “It shall not stand, and it shall not come to pass.” God would protect Judah. Therefore, Ahaz needed to trust God. He needed to have some faith. God was stepping in as the authority figure and He was the One would protect Judah from the bullies.

We should expect to be afraid. We should not beat ourselves up when fear strikes us. It’s natural. However, if we are following God’s plan, we must deal with and overcome our fear. Often times the answer to beating back fear is relying more on God. Faith will overcome fear. God gave this message to Ahaz. He also gives this message to us throughout His Scriptures. Are you trying to walk on the path God has called you to but you’re struggling with fear? Ask for His help. Ask Him to help you overcome fear and the panic that can come from it and to give you His quiet and His peace. If you find your faith too weak, ask Him for that, too. He is the business of increasing the faith of those who desire it. He is the reason we don’t have to be afraid. He can overcome anything that would cause us fear. We simply have to have faith in Him.

The Proper Attitude Towards an Enemy’s Defeat

Life is an adventure. Christians believe that the best adventure comes from following God’s plan. Not all adventures are good. Some end in misery and defeat. However, an adventure with God will be a good adventure. The short term (this life) may not look all that appealing, but the long term (eternity with Him) is unimaginably good. As with any adventure, though, we will come across folks who choose to be our enemies. Note how I put that. They choose to be our enemies. We should not be looking to make enemies.

Why do they choose to be our enemies? It really doesn’t matter. You simply trying to live a life that is pleasing to God will generate you a whole host of earthly enemies. Sometimes they will prevail (always in the short term) and sometimes we will. When we prevail over an enemy, what should our attitude be? Is there an issue with rejoicing in God’s greatness? Surely not, because He is deserving of all praise. How should we react other than that?

“You mountains of Gilboa,
let there be no dew or rain upon you,
nor fields of offerings!
For there the shield of the mighty was defiled,
the shield of Saul, not anointed with oil.
- 2 Samuel 1:21, ESV

Saul tried to kill David. Even after David let him go and Saul promised not to go after him any more, Saul broke that promise to David. Then, to make matters worse, Saul was unprepared for the outbreak of war with the Philistines, probably because he was too busy chasing David. He had to hurriedly march to the fight and it didn’t just cost him his own life, but the lives of his sons, including Jonathan. One can only wonder how differently that battle would have been if Saul had David and David’s troops to fight alongside the rest of the Israelites. So not only did Saul try to kill David, but Saul’s foolishness ended up getting David’s best friend killed, too. If that isn’t an enemy, I don’t know what is.

Look how David responded. Did he jump up and down and shout, “I’m glad Saul’s dead?” Quite the contrary. David cursed the ground where Saul fell. Why? David saw Saul as God’s anointed. He was, in fact, anointed by God to be king. Though God had passed the mantle onto David, David recognized that God had chosen Saul. David would not raise up his hand against one of God’s anointed. There’s a lesson to be learned here.

In every day life, we don’t know whom God will call and whom He won’t. We have no idea. The person who belligerently opposes us today could have a saving experience tomorrow. The one who causes us great harm and seeks to ruin us could be the one God redeems years down the road. We just don’t know. Even those who might fall and die opposing us still belong in the hands of God, not us. We are reminded that revenge isn’t for us. Love, forgiveness, and a helping hand towards our enemy, well, those things are.

In other words, our reaction when an enemy is defeated isn’t to be one of great rejoicing that our enemy has suffered. It doesn’t matter how deserving we think he or she is. After all, would we desire Christ apply the same standard to us? Rather, an enemy’s suffering should be cause for lament in us. This is especially true if an enemy’s life extinguishes in the process. If that enemy does not know Christ, there is no salvation. If we believe in a real heaven and hell, that should cause us to shudder and quake. We should desire that fate on no one. Therefore, let us react like David did upon Saul’s death: let us be saddened by an enemy’s defeat. Let us lift up our enemies, especially if they are alive. Let us call upon on the name of the Lord on their behalf, that they might be saved.

Learn to Tune Out Naysayers

Inevitably, someone isn’t going to like what you’re doing. Someone is going to point out everything that’s wrong about it. That person is going to tell you all the reasons you should be considering something else. Sometimes, that someone is right. Accountability in the Church is not what it should be. However, when a healthy accountability relationship exists, the believers involved benefit spiritually and emotionally. In that kind of relationship, when something is amiss at least one Christian should be telling another that something that other person is doing wrong. But we’re not talking about those types of relationships.

We’re talking about the situations when you know what you’re doing is the right thing for you to be doing. Then the naysayers show up and tell you that you’re wrong. They may even stress how dangerous what you’re doing (or about to do) is. Those folks may even be people who are close to you, who care about you, and who honestly think they are doing the right thing. If you aren’t sure and it’s someone you trust, then you should pause to reconsider (if there’s time). However, if you are sure, especially if it’s something you know God would have you do, then you must tune out the naysayers.

But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they jeered at us and despised us and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” Then I replied to them, “The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build, but you have no portion or right or claim in Jerusalem.” – Nehemiah 2:19-20, ESV

Nehemiah was confronted by at least three people who told him that what he was doing was foolish. They didn’t just tell him he was wrong, the Scriptures tell us they jeered at him. They went out of their way to make him feel like a fool. They belittled him. They even went so far as to accuse him of rebelling against the king.

Nehemiah could have stopped right there and said, “Rebel against the king? Who do you think authorized me to be here? Who do you think put his seal on this letter authorizing me supplies?” Note that he didn’t do that. Instead, Nehemiah pointed them to God. He shut down the naysayers by putting the focus on He who would make it happen. An earthly king was important, but he wasn’t as important as the King of kings.

What was true for Nehemiah is also true for us. If you know you’re doing something God has called you to do, learn to tune out the naysayers. Also, if you are forced into a confrontation, tell the truth plainly. Focus on why you’re doing it. Nehemiah didn’t argue their points. He simply stated his. He wasn’t mean-spirited. He didn’t get into a shouting match. He put the focus on God. So should we. It may not be popular, but that’s irrelevant. What is relevant is we are being obedient to our Lord and our God. There should never be any shame in that.

Soli Deo Gloria

I expect to step on a few toes with this one. Soli Deo Gloria is about one thing: God getting all the glory. We pay this great lip service, but we do a terrible job honoring it in our churches. Think about how many folks do things in church hoping that someone will praise them. If we’re absolutely honest with ourselves, “many folks” includes ourselves. I’ve certainly been guilty of this sin more times than I’d like to admit. I volunteer for something because I think that “it’s what is expected” or because there is some limelight to the task at hand. However, those are the wrong attitudes to take. Everything we do should be for the glory of God. Nothing should be reserved for ourselves. Nothing should be reserved for any person. Only God is deserving.

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!”
- Isaiah 6:1-3, ESV

And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say,

“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,
who was and is and is to come!”

And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

“Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they existed and were created.”
- Revelation 4:8-11, ESV

I’ve quoted from both the Old and New Testaments because I wanted to show you the consistency of the experience between Isaiah and John. In both, only God is being praised and glorified. In the case of John, we even see that there are 24 elders who have been crowned. That would mean, on human terms, that they are worthy of some sort of glory, right? Not so. They are using their crowns to glorify God further. In both scenes it is clear that Soli Deo Gloria is the way it works in heaven.

That should be the way it works on earth (“…Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven…“). However, we have a tendency to “deify” our heroes. This could be your pastor. Remember, he or she is a sinner, just like you or me. He or she needs the risen Christ for the salvation of sins, just like you or me. It could be a famous personality, such as a TV or radio Bible teacher. It could be an author. It could be a missionary. It could be a departed saint. It could be the head of some organization. There’s not a problem recognizing folks for their diligent work for the Kingdom. We should be doing that quite often. We should seek to encourage one another constantly when we see one another pursuing God’s plan. This is true of the lay person as well as a member of ministry staff. However, when we go past recognition to something resembling glory, we have a problem. We have a big problem. Only God should be glorified. Only God must be glorified. Only He is deserving of it.

Are you doing things within the Church for your own glory? Or are you unintentionally glorifying someone else’s work instead of God? If so, seek to stop immediately. Don’t worry, glory is coming. Romans 8:17 reminds us that when the time is right, God will glorify those whom He calls to be His children. So don’t worry about the glory. Don’t worry about someone else’s glory. Only worry about giving God all the glory. Soli Deo Gloria, glory to God alone!