Despite their fear of the peoples around them, they
built the altar on its foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the Lord, both the morning and evening sacrifices.
Tomorrow morning, thirty nine boxes of toys and
goodies will be given to the first graders of Carreta Elementary School. It
will be our church’s third wave of sharing the love of Jesus to their community
(the clean-up drive was first, and the school supplies pack was second). It’s a
joy to be part of it and so my husband brought home two boxes for us: one for a
girl recipient, the other for a boy. I took the list last weekend and shopped
for all ten items. When I got home, somehow I felt very uncomfortable with the
two blue shirts I found on sale. God has been speaking to me about giving ‘better’
gifts lately and I know a pink shirt would fit a young girl better. But when I
look inside the box, with all nine other good items in it, my depraved mind was
saying, ‘It’s already good enough’. I struggled for days and especially in light
of my very thin Christmas budget. Then this devotion brought me light.
Chapter three of Ezra talks about the fifty
thousand, first wave of exiles coming home to Jerusalem from their seventy
years in Babylon. Here, after settling in their own towns for seven months,
they gathered as one man in the capital city to build an altar for God. It may
seem easy at first glance for it only requires some acacia wood and an overlay
of bronze. Each one gave to the treasury for this work and so the financial
side wouldn’t be much of a problem. But our verse above noted one big
roadblocker: fear. Before their coming, the land was inhabited by pagans who were
determined to stay for good. And these squatters weren’t just numerous. They
even had connections to the Persian government who were powerful enough to send
them away. Building an altar in Jerusalem was a big statement of reclaiming their
land as God’s people. It’s like an opening arrow in war. Their fear was real and
valid, but despite its paralyzing threat, they stood their ground and did God’s
will. After all, if fear was at their door, all the more they needed God’s
favor and protection.
‘Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously
look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help
you. Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ What fear seeks is
to deny us the truth of this verse. It tells us that God is NOT with us, and
will NOT strengthen and help us. Fear whispered to me that my budget couldn’t
allow a better gift for a little girl. Dig deeper and it meant, God is not a
good provider. And so in faith, I went back to the mall, decisive to buy a pink
shirt. There I was sidetracked again with a rack on sale but the ‘better’ word
tapped me back. Finding the best one
finally, I rushed to the cashier for the pay. Guess what? When she swiped the
shirt, I was surprised it registered a discounted price. Even lower than the
one on the sale rack! It was so humbling
and reassuring. I cried in praise to my amazing God!
