Ezra 6:11 “Furthermore, I decree that if anyone defies this edict, a beam is to be pulled from their house and they are to be impaled on it. And for this crime their house is to be made a pile of rubble.”
Sometimes I need a who’s in control reality check.
After seventy years in Babylonian exile, the Jewish people were given permission to return to their homeland. Over 40,000 people arrived in Jerusalem for resettlement. They faced immediate opposition when they started restoring the foundation of the temple. Their enemies sent a letter to the Persian king, accusing the Jews of rebellion, warning him to shut them down, although they had done nothing wrong. (As many of you know, the “rightness” of our cause does not insure smooth sailing). The Jews were forced to stop working.
But thankfully, that’s not the end of the story. Fourteen years later, the prophets urged the people to resume the building. When their enemies threatened them again and complained to the king, history records a colossal backfire. Not only did King Darius reinstate permission for the Jews to rebuild, he threatened to impale anyone who tried to stop them!
God has a way of turning the bleakest of situations into shimmering lights of victory. Nothing lies beyond his power. He works through his godly servants but even through ungodly rulers. The God who created the universe and everything in it remains in charge. Never forget the “unseen” outpowers, outlasts and outdoes the “seen.”
The Lord has recently been calling us to a deeper season of prayer. It’s amazing to see how many seemingly hopeless situations have suddenly turned around. The only explanation for the change: the inexplicable power of prayer to “the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords” (1 Timothy 6:15).
So I pray the next time life starts getting you down, you go for a who’s in control reality check. The same power that gave the Jewish people favor with a pagan Persian king is the same power that raised Christ from the dead and is the same power that lives in you and in me. Nothing is too hard for him. Absolutely nothing.