Standing With Uncompromising Courage
If we were to take a poll of heroes in the Bible, Jesus would stand out as the most courageous, even though there were many more characters in both the Old and New Testament who stood with tremendous courage. It took a lot of courage for Moses to return to Pharaoh's palace and confront him about his treatment of the Israelites. It took courage for David to stand before Goliath. And, it took the most courage to endure the cross as an innocent man – the God-man, Christ Himself.
Jesus is the true source of courage for believers. He has served as the source of courage for folks ever since the beginning of time. In our Blueprint of a Leader workshop, we focus our attention on the life of Ezra as he brought the second group of Israelites out of captivity from Babylon and back into Jerusalem.
“....so I took courage because I was strengthened by the Lord my God and I gathered Israelite leaders to return with me.” - Ezra 7:28
We get our strength from God. We get our peace through His Son, Jesus Christ. And, we get comfort from having others join us in our plight. Ezra chose other Israelite leaders to return with him to the Promised Land. In chapter 8, we find that Ezra stopped by the canal that flows toward Ahava and upon looking around, he noticed there were no Levites with him. Since the Levites were responsible for preparing the temple for worship, Ezra sent for them.
Ezra understood that the route they would take back to Jerusalem was a very dangerous route; however, his faith was in God and not in the king. As a matter of fact, he even mentions that he was reluctant to ask the king for military escorts because he had already stated that the good hand of the Lord was upon him. He called for a fast and asked for God's protection. Here are the results of his journey of faith.
“....We were strengthened by our God, and He protected us from the power of the enemy and from ambush along the way.” - Ezra 8:31
We don't hear a lot about fasting in today's society except when it comes to lab work for a doctor's appointment or doing without food due to upcoming surgery. But, during biblical times, people took fasting seriously. So did God. He honored Ezra and the people for taking time to fast and pray. I'm praying about a fast myself as we get closer to our fall leadership conference to be held at our church. I want to be spiritually aware of what God is doing in this ministry and in the lives of those who attend the conference.
Ezra chapter 8 ends on a very positive note, but quickly things take a turn for the worse. That's how Satan likes it though. Right when we experience a spiritual high, he attacks with a vengeance. Many of the very leaders who had led the people back to Jerusalem from Babylon had fallen into the sin of inter-marriage with the foreigners of the land. Ezra was devastated. He fell upon his knees and cried out to God for forgiveness on behalf of the people of Israel. Being a priest, a scribe and a teacher, Ezra fully understood the consequences of their behavior.
In the beginning of chapter 10, as Ezra continues to plead with God, an unlikely hero stands up and steps forth. Perhaps you know of such a person in your church. His name was Shecaniah. His father and an uncle had inter-married, and with great courage, Shecaniah took a stand for what was right in the eyes of God the Father.
Then Shecaniah son of Jehiel, one of the descendants of Elam, said to Ezra, “We have been unfaithful to our God by intermarrying foreign women from the peoples around us. But in spite of this, there is still hope for Israel.” - Ezra 10:2
Shecaniah took a stand for what was right. Have you taken a stand for anything lately?
“It's always right to do the right thing.”
Pastor Pat Ray
