“Despite their fear of the peoples around them, they built the altar . . .” Ezra 3:3
Facing fears and foes in order to achieve goals or to follow God’s leading goes way back. The Biblical account surrounding the scripture above is just one such example.
God had moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to issue a proclamation calling all of God’s people to go to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. After they had “assembled as one man in Jerusalem” (Ezra 3:1), the priests and other leaders began building the altar so they could sacrifice the burnt offerings required by God. And they did this “despite their fear of the peoples around them” (v. 3).
History tells us their fears proved to be legitimate. Sure enough, their enemies heard that they were rebuilding the temple of God and immediately began making trouble for them. Scripture says the “peoples around them set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to go on building.” (4:4)
Sadly, work had to be suspended for a period of time when a new king came into power, but eventually—under another king’s rule and with his support—the people of God finished building the temple.
Today, we, too, will face fears and foes as we try to achieve our goals or follow God’s leading. The“peoples” around us will undoubtedly look different than they did in Ezra’s day, but they will always be there, lurking around, ready to frustrate our plans and discourage us—just like the enemies of God’s people did centuries ago.
The foes we fear may include people, but they might also pop up in the form of other obstacles like lack of ability or knowledge or funds or time. We might also be afraid of failure—or even the new demands that success might bring.
But whatever our enemies are, will history—or at least our own family lore—recount how we moved forward despite our fears of the “peoples” around us? Will we be as courageous and determined as God’s people who rebuilt the temple?
Let’s not let our enemies bully us into refusing the challenge or quitting before the victory comes. Let’s keep our eyes on the Lord and rely on his strength and resources and ability. Let’s not let our enemies win.
“Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.” Psalm 20:7 NIV
*What foes are you facing today?
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*Flickr photo by Paxson Woelber, Creative Commons License