from Lenae, GEMS Training Manager
God’s
Great Reputation
I was
ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to protect us from enemies on
the road, because we had told the king, “The gracious hand of our God is on
everyone who looks to him, but his great anger is against all who forsake him.”
Ezra was a man of God’s Word. He knew God’s
Word, believed God’s Word, and obeyed it. So when Ezra told the king of Persia
that God would provide all that they needed for their 900-mile trip back to
Jerusalem, he didn’t go back on his word. Ezra refused to compromise God’s
reputation by boasting about His gracious protection in the safety of
Artaxerxes’ palace and then running back for the King’s Cavalry when the trip
threatened to turn treacherous.
By the Ahava Canal he proclaimed a fast, so
that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey
for us and our children, with all our possessions (Ezra
8:21). They fasted, they prayed, and in His great power and provision, God
answered.
At the beginning of our journey into a
new year do we have Ezra’s mindset to rightly live what we know and have
testified about God’s greatness? Over the past week I’ve wrestled that through
with ten questions posed by Don
Whitney. The list includes this: What’s the most humanly impossible thing
you will ask God to do this year?
I have to confess that up until that
question my goal setting was within the realm of the possible and practical. It
skewed toward my abilities, realistic timeframes, and available resources. If
God says that nothing is impossible for Him shouldn’t my prayers and plans
expand to His gracious promise?
Ezra was ashamed to do anything that
would diminish God’s reputation. As women of the Word, who believe it,
and obey it, do we share his shame at the thought of our testimony of God’s
greatness not lining up to our lives?
Who or what do you trust? Christ alone?
Or do you trust Christ plus your capabilities, or Christ plus your cash on
hand, or Christ plus your ____________? Do you say God is gracious, but then lie
awake at night worried that He won’t be enough for your need? Do you say that
God is good, but then constantly complain about your circumstances?
By the Ahava Canal, Ezra did not put his
trust in the king’s chariots or horses. He humbled himself and staked his life
on the reputation of God’s great name.
HE>i: What is your life telling others about
God?
Christians have God's reputation at the
forefront of their minds. It's always risky to live in a way that makes God
look great.
Phil Moore
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