After Amen - Day 319 Month 11-14 Week 44-4
After Amen
Today's Reading (Bible in 1 year)
Ezra 8:21-9:15, Job 37, Nahum 1, 2 Peter 2
I’m guilty of it and I suspect anyone who prays may do it too. Maybe you do it. We pray and ask God for something. It may be something we need or want, it may be protection or it could be a whole bunch of things. When you are finished praying about the need, you start trying to look after it yourself. Now, I’m not discrediting responsible action, but asking God to meet a need doesn't mean we have to come up with the answer ourselves.
It’s been something I’ve learned mroe about in the last few years. I’ve learned to wait for God’s provision. You all know, if you’ve been following throughout the year, that I’d like a new truck. This was especially concerning in the spring when my current truck, a Honda Ridgeline, was going to need significant work to pass its motor vehicle inspection (MVI). We require an MVI every 2 years here. I was praying consistently about my preference for a new truck, but it’s a problem since we have a bit of debt and we don’t want to go any further into debt. I had been watching FB Marketplace and the CarGurus app looking for a new truck, recognizing we didn’t have the money for it. I knew that my truck problem would require a God sized miracle for a new truck or, though not my preference, we’d need a different miracle to find a place to do the repairs, mechanical and bodywork, on the Ridgeline for a reasonable price within our current available funds. Now, earlier in life, I would likely have gone ahead and found the truck and taken out an additional loan to pay for it. As I waited, I told a friend about the issue and he gave me the name of a shop that may be able to do the repairs on my Ridgeline. With a sad face, I called the shop and sure enough they could do the repairs and they would be relatively inexpensive. I’m still driving the Ridgeline.
I was praying for God’s best answer, but what I really wanted was a new, to me, truck. In the end, God’s provision was repairing the old truck and not taking on additional debt. I could have gone ahead and purchased a truck, but I believe that would have been the wrong decision for us. Though I’d still like a new truck, I am prepared to wait on God’s provision.
We read in Ezra 8:22-23, “For I was ashamed to request from the king troops and horsemen to protect us from the enemy on the way, because we had said to the king, “The hand of our God is favorably disposed to all those who seek Him, but His power and His anger are against all those who forsake Him.” So we fasted and sought our God concerning this matter, and He listened to our entreaty.”
Ezra, as an act of faith, did not request the king's protection because “the hand of God is favorably disposed to all those who seek Him.” Having faith that God will protect does not necessarily mean you aren’t concerned for your safety. Concern, and might I say fear, are natural human emotions. The king could have provided protection, but Ezra chose to put his trust in God rather than ask for it.
So they prayed about their fear and God listened. We read the result in verse 31. “The hand of God was over us, and He delivered us from the hand of the enemy and the ambushes by the way.” It sounds like there were still enemies and ambushes, but God delivered them.
There are many factors that come into play when we seek God’s will in a matter. We make our plans and decisions, other people make theirs, and circumstances sometimes unfold in ways we cannot control. Sometimes bad things happen and God knows it, but that doesn't mean He will always change the outcome. What we can be certain of is that He will never abandon us. We are told, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).
In Ezra’s case, it was God’s plan and direction for the Temple to be rebuilt in Jerusalem. They chose to fast and pray as they prepared to make the journey, trusting God to protect them. In my case with the truck, I chose to pray about the truck. God knew my preference, yet I believe God still provided a way to keep the old truck on the road without increasing our debt.
There are God’s plans and there are our plans, and there are things that happen that are out of our control, like we’ve been reading about in Job. We can be thankful that God will never leave us or forsake us.
Have a great day!
Steve
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