This past week while reading the book of Ezra in the New Living Translation, a certain phrase kept popping up in chapter 7 that captivated my attention: 'for the gracious hand of his God was on him'. I stopped to ponder what merited the gracious hand of God upon one's life. I thought, "If possible, I want this in my own life"; so I asked the Lord to show me the secret to Ezra's life. Isn't it amazing how one can read right over profound revelations so simply written that one never sees them at all! I sensed the Spirit of God impressing me to reread verses 6-10. In verse 10, the secret was discovered! For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the Lord and to practice it, and to teach His statues and ordinances in Israel. The NLT states this was the reason God's gracious hand was upon him.
I do believe the secret is found in the determined set of the heart to do right, don't you? This had to be his a lifestyle, the priority of his life through his years in Babylonian captivity. His faithfulness to God in what may have seemed to others a futile habit, counted big in God's sight because when the timing for the return to Israel was right, guess who God put in the role as leader? Ezra, the scribe skilled in the law of Moses, whose heart was rooted in the Scriptures, whose life exemplified obedience, and who took responsibility for teaching the Scriptures to others. Added to this blessing is the fact that everything he requested for the trip home was granted by a pagan king! Ezra gave credit where credit was due in verses 27-28: "Blessed be the LORD, the God of our fathers, who has put such a thing as this in the king's heart, to adorn the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem, and has extended lovingkindness to me before the king and his counselors and before all the king's mighty princes. Thus I was strengthened according to the hand of the LORD my God upon me!" There is so much to learn from this brief insight into the heart of a man whose ways please God!
Last Friday, I shared this insight in a Bible study with my dear friends in an assisted living center, all of whom are confined to wheelchairs. I carefully explained that they, like Ezra, could set their hearts to read their Bibles each day and ask God to help them understand what He was telling them. I challenged them to obey what they read and be reminded that Jesus said that all the commandments were summed up in two ways: Keep on loving God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength....and keep on loving your neighbor as yourself. They nodded their heads to indicate they understood! However, when I mentioned the word 'teach', their reaction was, "Oh, we can't do that!" I responded, "Oh! Yes, you can!" I shared that if they would set their hearts on reading the Word each day and be careful to do what it said, their actions, reactions, and attitudes would have such a Christlike quality, their very lives would daily 'preach sermons'! I assured them they did not need a degree from seminary....just a childlike heart to pay attention to what God says, do it, and live it out! Almost to a person, faces brightened as truth began to dawn, and a glimpse of what God could do through them, in spite of their confinement, began to take shape.
As i got into my car to leave, the thought came, "If those dear people could reach out to grasp a challenge, how much more should I?" With a sober mind and a humble heart, I left that day with a determination to study the Word more diligently, obey what it says, and seek to live it out so others may be introduced to the incredible joy of Jesus everywhere I am.