A few moments stick in your mind from recent history, like 2020. I still think about it as the strangest year of my life. I had just graduated from Southeastern Seminary. And by graduate, I mean I received a diploma, no walking across the stage, and no pomp and circumstance. I sold my cap and gown. And began looking to the next step. My family's next step was moving to Taiwan to partner with local churches.
In 2020, that seemed like an impossible task. Everything was locked down. Every store was a reminder of the pandemic that raged all around us. There was a financial dip in the markets because of COVID. Everything seemed to be working against that plan to return to Taiwan. How would I accomplish this? I often found myself asking God this question. You see the problem, don’t you?
Lessons from Ezra
To answer my misguided question, God stirred my heart to study Ezra. Chapters 4-6 leapt out from the pages. Ezra reminded his readers that the first returning exiles faced opposition that seemed insurmountable. They were discouraged by the enemy that rose to stop their worship. The enemy looked successful. The work had ceased for 20 years.
I could so relate to this picture in Scripture. Can you relate? My enemy was the virus raging around the world, shutting down travel and countries. I was discouraged and couldn’t see how God would accomplish what He called my family to do. Have you ever felt such discouragement? I was desperate to read chapter 5. Surely, God’s people would not be defeated.
Oh, how my heart leapt at the words in chapter 5. Verses 1-5, God raised His prophets to teach and encourage His people. It worked! The leaders and the people rose and restarted the building of the Temple. Was the opposition over? No. However, the power of God’s Word so motivated the people that they continued despite opposition. They once again realized there was hope in God. Their response to God’s Word was obedience.
As my eyes scanned the page, my heart began to respond, too. I knew I must continue to pursue God’s will, even in a world on lockdown. I must have the same boldness to continue to teach in my local church and pursue going to Taiwan. I had to do it with a resolve that was modeled in these returned exiles.
The exiles would finish the Temple by the end of chapter 6. God had moved the heart of King Darius to allow the people to do the work. The people rejoiced in God’s faithfulness and victory in the new Temple. What a picture of God’s sovereignty! Pagan kings bow to His will. His enemies bend to His commands. The governor and the people who opposed the Temple had to pay for it by order of the king. How is that for a reversal?
Hope for the Present
In Ezra chapters 5 and 6, we see a pattern of responding to God’s Word, resting in His sovereignty over world powers, and rejoicing in His faithfulness. But what does that mean for us today? We aren’t building a Temple, but God is building a church. He is building a people. God’s people face opposition in this modern world. That is the beauty of chapters 4-6. There is opposition at various times among the returning exiles. God was faithful through all of them.
Ezra reminds his contemporary audience of this same truth. They were facing a challenge in rebuilding the city. Ezra reminds them that God moved the hearts of two kings, so what is a third or fourth? If that is true for Ezra, it is true for you and me. God can and will move the hearts of governments if He wills. They cannot stop the plans or purposes of God. Let us look back at what God did in the lives of the exiles returning to rebuild. Let us marvel at God’s power and glory!
Flash forward five years. I am preparing a sermon on Ezra 5 and 6. I read through my old journal. I read the entry about chapter 6, which I wrote sitting at my kitchen table five years before. This is what I wrote:
“At the moment, we are in the middle of a global pandemic. Our calling to return to Taiwan seems complicated, as Taiwan is locked down. It is hard to see above all the news and trouble. But this chapter reminds me that even with a world on lockdown, plans stuck in limbo, God is still the king and in control. I need not worry. My God holds the future. ‘I don’t know what tomorrow will bring, but I know who brings tomorrow.”
I got to read that entry as part of my sermon, at a church in … Taiwan. During my preparation, I marveled at the faithfulness of God. I could not have overcome government lockdowns to get to Taiwan. But God could and did. All week, I rejoiced in God’s triumph and power. He is faithful. The work to get to Taiwan was not easy. The road was hard, but it was not lonely. God was there every step of the way.
Hope for all
I hope that you may find some solace that if God could bring my family to Taiwan against all odds, God will carry you through your trials as well. May you find hope in the words of Ezra. God can move the hearts of powerful kings to carry out His plans. As you pursue God’s will, whether in your family, your work, or your ministry, let your heart respond to the Scripture, rest in God’s sovereignty, and may you rejoice in God’s faithfulness. One day, you will look back on this season. What story will you tell? What will you see when you remember this time, five years from now? I pray it is full of God’s faithfulness!