March 12, 2024
Passage Read: Ezra 2-5
Meditation Verses: 4:23-24
Thought
They rejoiced at the laying of the foundation, but when the governors of the land came by force to shut them down, they stopped. They didn't appeal the decision, they didn't remind the governors of Cyrus's decree, they just stopped. According to Zechariah and Haggai, they turned their attention to their farms and their own houses. Yet God didn't prosper them. In time, He sent Zechariah and Haggai to speak to them and they repented and restarted the work. At that time, when the governors came to find out what they were doing, they pointed to Cyrus's decree, and the work could not be stopped. The Jews rejoiced at the beginning of the reconstruction, but how much were their hearts into it? They gave up without much fight when things got difficult. They had the right and the command from the king, but they opted to stop the work rather than show the king's command.
Application
Building God's house, His kingdom, can be inconvenient. Not hard but inconvenient. There may be other things I would rather be doing, so that any excuse to stop God's work seems to justify me turning my attention to the things I enjoy more or have a greater desire to work on. My heart and my commitment to God and my love for Him are revealed in that moment. I love my own things more than I love the things of God, and I'm quick to abandon the work of God at the first reasonable excuse. That should not be. My heart needs to be first for the Lord, to seek first His kingdom and righteousness, to pursue things that last for eternity, rather than pursue the things that perish. The things that perish may seem more fun or interesting or even easier, but they are just wasted effort and time. I'll have plenty of time to work at ordinary things when Christ comes in His kingdom, when there's no more opportunity to advance His kingdom and to choose to pursue His righteousness as opposed to lesser things. This life is my only chance to store up treasure in heaven and to train myself to be wholly dedicated to the Lord, a faithful servant who can be entrusted with much in His kingdom.