QT: Father or father?
Father or father?
https://www.esv.org/Ezra8:21–23
Week 22: 23/05/2023. Tue
Once a church member prayed before a meal, "...give us this day our daily bread..." Her father heard her and retorted, "If your earthly father doesn't catch fish, you can't even eat at all!"
We sympathize with the struggles of Ezra, when he had told the king, "The hand of our God is for good on all who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all who forsake him" (Ezra 8:21b). But now, Ezra and his group of returnees faced the dangerous unknowns as they continue their months long journey from Ahava to Jerusalem.
In view of Ezra's declaration of the goodness of God, he was too "ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and horsemen" for protection (8:22).
When we do the right thing to please God in obedience to Him, we leave the results to God. His sovereign plans would work out His will, whether or not we see them now. Procrastination and fear of not having the waterproof/complete human plans did not hinder Ezra from praying and moving forward with the clear will of God, prophesied through their own prophets—for the return of God's people after exile.
"So we fasted and implored our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty" (8:23). Indeed, the church member continued to pray and serve God, acknowledging that while the earthly father works to feed them, it was ultimately the Heavenly Father who saw them through.
The struggle had always been "in God's eyes" versus "in the public's eyes". Work out God's revealed will today and leave the rest to Him. People come and go. Really. But may the LORD's will be forever, through His people's humble obedience and child-like trust in the Father (8:21).
