Happy Monday! It’s September 26th, 2022. Today we are in Wartburg, Germany, where Martin Luther fled to avoid death after he was thrown out of the Catholic Church. He hid in the Wartburg Castle, where he translated the Greek New Testament into German and continued to write some of his greatest works. His “pause” in ministry was only ten months. Ezra experienced an eighteen year pause! But God’s work continued, nevertheless. There may be seasons of pause in our lives too. Fear not. You’re not alone! Read on …
Today's Reading:
Ezra 4; Psalms 113; Psalms 127; Luke 9
Scripture
“…Zerubbabel, Joshua and the rest of the heads of the families of Israel answered, “You have no part with us in building a temple to our God. We alone will build it for the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, commanded us.” Then the peoples around them set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to go on building” -Ezra 4:3-4
Observation
Some background is needed here: Ezra is the priest is sent back from the Babylonian Captivity in 586 BC to teach the Jews the Laws of God. Seventy years had passed, and many Jewish people would have been born in exile, so they needed to re-learn the ways of God in this post-exilic hometown of Jerusalem. Nehemiah was the wall builder, and Zerubbabel was the governor that Xerxes appointed to oversee the rebuilding of the Temple. Enemies of the Jews feigned concern for the building but secretly wanted to sabotage the work and make it their own. When Zerubbabel caught on, he refused, turning their surreptitious motives into a full-blown attack. The enemies then wrote condemning letters to the new leader in Persia (Artaxerxes), claiming that Jews paid no property taxes, would rebel against the state, and were “trouble makers.”
Sound familiar? These same accusations are broiling today. Sadly, the new King listened to these politicians, and the work of rebuilding the Temple was put on pause for eighteen years!
Application
There will always be haters who will oppose the building and work of God. The Kingdom's advance will never lack naysayers and opposition. There may be pauses in the work, but never defeats! And though eighteen years will seem like "forever" to us, it is only a blink in God's timing. What do you do in the pause? What is our role during the "in-between" times of our lives?
That's the precise time when we work on ourselves! We get back to the basics. The basics … maybe these were things we neglected that got us into this valley! But now, we will turn it around! During the pauses, I will take stock, reassess, and refocus. This season will not be wasted time but rather the most productive time! I will intentionally take the time to reflect on my life and priorities and prune back to essentials.
Prayer
Thank you for reminding me that enormous opportunity is hidden in every crisis! During every lull, there is a treasure waiting to be found, and in each desert wandering, there is a burning bush that will change the trajectory of my life and future.
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