Inside Your Heart

Ezra 6:22

For seven days they celebrated with joy the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because the LORD had filled them with joy by changing the attitude of the king of Assyria, so that he assisted them in the work on the house of God, the God of Israel.

One interesting series that Tris and I got hooked on was Once Upon A Time. It is a modern take of the old fairy tales we grew up with, and like Shrek, the creators made a way of linking the characters to each other and into one story line. For its second season, the evil witch was back again trying to win Snow White’s grandson for her keeping. She used the book of spells to snatch him amidst the townspeople. She even enticed him to try magic. But like Bruce Almighty’s lesson, you cannot make another love you. She may have kept the boy inside her house, but she can never be inside his heart. It is the boy’s personal choice.

Following the celebration of the dedication of the temple, we find Judah in verse 19 having another feast, the Passover. They held it on the dates commanded by the Law, indicating that the Temple worship was fully operational.  What was noteworthy though was what God put in their hearts as the reason for their joy: that He changed the attitude of Darius so that he assisted them in the Temple rebuilding.   God softened the heart of this ruler, as He did with Pharaoh, to serve His purposes. This king acknowledged God as the God of heaven. Sadly though, he didn't make God the God of his life.

Verse 10 gives us the clue what was really in Darius’ heart: political reasons. Wikipedia noted that he was a firm believer of Ahura Mazda and he only ‘supported faiths and religions that were alien as long as the adherents were submissive and peaceable, sometimes giving them grants from his treasury for their purposes’.  How sad God must have been! This man called Him God - acknowledging His presence, His power, His sovereignty - but still not calling Him as ‘his’ God. Judas too, broke God’s heart by being a close follower and yet, not following at all.  Both prove that we can do God’s will without necessarily being connected to Him. The difference is found at the celebration after. Judah joyously enjoyed the feast, but Darius have no share in it. I doubt we’ll see Judas in eternity as well. Truth is, God draws people to Himself. His power is for His love and grace be made available to all. But responding in faith is man’s personal choice. The big question now is, is the God of all creation, also the God of your life?

Eyes on You

Ezra 5:5

But the eye of their God was watching over the elders of the Jews, and they were not stopped until a report could go to Darius and his written reply be received.

At the start of the year, my husband and I decided it’s time to find a new house for our family. The one we’re renting now is an old, ancestral home, and despite the renovation efforts before we moved in, it’s still deteriorating. Thank God for Google, we needn’t spend much and exhaust ourselves for tripping. All we need to do is allot an hour everyday and check out the classified sites. Specifying our preferences also trimmed down the hard work. But neither brought us success so far. No matter how diligent we are, our look gave us nothing, and brought us nowhere. It is frustrating.

Chapter five of Ezra opens with Haggai and Zechariah prophesying against Judah for their neglect in rebuilding the house of God. The construction was put on hold fifteen years back upon Artaxerxes’ order. Sadly, they never sought God if and when it could resume again. Their zeal grew cold and was diverted to paneling their own houses.  Here, God’s word through His prophets revived their hearts anew and readily, they continued the work. But as always, the enemy was unrelenting too. The Persian governor questioned their authorization permits, even went as far as reporting them to King Darius. But the eye of God was watching over them. He who kept them as an apple of His eye, will never allow them harmed nor touched. In the following chapter, they weren’t just given clearance. They were fully supported and financed.

Sometimes, the concept of God being in heaven clouds our confidence that His help is within reach. It seems that the vast space in between indeed separates us from His love, and that all He can faithfully do is watch us ‘from a distance’. Zechariah 4:10 noted ‘The seven lamps represent the eyes of the LORD that search all around the world’. With seven, it signifies the perfection of God in exercising His providence in all creation. He is no man whose eyes are limited to left and right and a little far beyond. He is ever-present and is with His people 24/7. It wasn’t King Darius’ approval nor their diligence that gave success to the temple restoration. Neither will my family ever find that house no matter how hard we look. Apart from God guiding us with His eyes, our look will give us nothing and bring us nowhere. Isn’t it best if we fix our gaze on Him instead?

New Year Fail?

Ezra 4:24

Thus the work on the house of God in Jerusalem came to a standstill until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.

We spent New Year’s Eve with my side of the family in a private resort in Antipolo City. The panoramic view overlooking the city was superb during the countdown. Add to that the warmth of being with my favorite clan again. It was everything I planned and prayed for. My heart was just so full and rejoicing. Until that Magic Sing took over the scene. Being a musician, I really have very low tolerance for out-of-tune singing. Please understand that it’s because my ears weren’t wired for such. Plus I’m worrying about the owner’s reminder of the anti-noise ordinance. It was a hard struggle. And definitely not my ideal first, few hours of 2013.

 In this chapter, we see the tribes of Judah and Benjamin embarking on their task of rebuilding God’s temple. It was their first endeavor as a returning nation. Sadly, they were welcomed with much opposition. And by welcome, it meant the struggle came from within. Their monotheistic faith threatened the idolatrous and immoral ways of the Samaritans squatting in the land. These pagans employed deception, discouragement and detraction to stop the work. And for sixteen years, they were seemingly successful in their slander.

It’s only the fourth of January and some of us are already struggling to overcome discouragements. The indulgence of the season may have left our purses almost empty; or maybe the holiday cheers faded at the sight of your gloomy workplace (and officemate!); or maybe we already failed in our set-resolutions. It may seem that these attempts to put us down are beyond our control, but truth is, the decision to respond parallel to the enemy’s lies is up to us. Being halted for a moment is far different from not trying again. We have the Resurrected Christ in our lives. His light can shine amidst any darkness, even death. With Him, we can move from striving to actually thriving. That’s our hope this new year!