May You Experience Bountiful Grace
Praise be to the LORD, the God of our ancestors, who has put it into the king's heart to bring honor to the house of the LORD in Jerusalem in this way and who has extended His good favor to me before the king and his advisers and all the king's powerful officials. Because the hand of the LORD my God was on me, I took courage and gathered leaders from Israel to go up with me.
. . . I assembled them at the canal that flows toward Ahava, and we camped there three days. When I checked among the people and the priests, I found no Levites there.
. . . Because the gracious hand of our God was on us, they brought us Sherebiah, a capable man, from the descendants of Mahli son of Levi, the son of Israel, and Sherebiah's sons and brothers, 18 in all . . .
There, by the Ahava Canal, I 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. 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." So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and He answered our prayer. Ezra 7:27-8:23
. . . I assembled them at the canal that flows toward Ahava, and we camped there three days. When I checked among the people and the priests, I found no Levites there.
. . . Because the gracious hand of our God was on us, they brought us Sherebiah, a capable man, from the descendants of Mahli son of Levi, the son of Israel, and Sherebiah's sons and brothers, 18 in all . . .
There, by the Ahava Canal, I 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. 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." So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and He answered our prayer. Ezra 7:27-8:23
Dreams, visions, goals, and objectives are placed in our hearts by God to serve His purposes. God has an agenda to accomplish on earth and He uses humans to accomplish those things. Sometimes, He even uses non-believers like Cyrus and Darius to further His purposes. Regardless of the vessel He chooses, God always gives the grace, courage, and strength needed for the task. Grace is indispensable in anything we do for God. We see this repeatedly as Ezra prepared to journey back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. Grace simply refers to God's unmerited favor that enables us to do things that would otherwise be impossible to accomplish.
Ezra was very cognizant of the role grace played in his assignment. God showed him grace before the king: "Praise be to the LORD . . . who has extended His good favor to me before the king and all his advisers and all the king's powerful officials."
God showed him grace when he needed Levites to go with him to Jerusalem: "Because the gracious hand of our God was on us, they brought us Sherebiah, a capable man, from the descendants of Mahli son of Levi . . . "
God also showed him grace by protecting him and the Israelites on the journey: "The gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to Him . . . So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and He answered our prayer."
We are saved by grace and we continue to live and function by the grace of our kind, loving and merciful God. When the grace of God is upon our lives, we are made strong and rich in every way. When Paul asked Jesus to take away the thorn in his flesh, Jesus simply responded: "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." (2 Corinthians 12:9).
Grace is what opens doors for us and causes the seemingly impossible to become possible. Grace is what causes us to find favor before God and humans. Grace is what gives us strength in times of weakness and discouragement. Grace is what enables us to rise again when we buckle under pressure or fall flat on our faces because our situations are too overwhelming.
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you (2 Corinthians 13:14).
Ezra was very cognizant of the role grace played in his assignment. God showed him grace before the king: "Praise be to the LORD . . . who has extended His good favor to me before the king and all his advisers and all the king's powerful officials."
God showed him grace when he needed Levites to go with him to Jerusalem: "Because the gracious hand of our God was on us, they brought us Sherebiah, a capable man, from the descendants of Mahli son of Levi . . . "
God also showed him grace by protecting him and the Israelites on the journey: "The gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to Him . . . So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and He answered our prayer."
We are saved by grace and we continue to live and function by the grace of our kind, loving and merciful God. When the grace of God is upon our lives, we are made strong and rich in every way. When Paul asked Jesus to take away the thorn in his flesh, Jesus simply responded: "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." (2 Corinthians 12:9).
Grace is what opens doors for us and causes the seemingly impossible to become possible. Grace is what causes us to find favor before God and humans. Grace is what gives us strength in times of weakness and discouragement. Grace is what enables us to rise again when we buckle under pressure or fall flat on our faces because our situations are too overwhelming.
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you (2 Corinthians 13:14).
Prayer: Thank you, Father, that your grace is sufficient for me and my strength will always be perfected by you in my times of weakness. Amen.