Ezra 7:27-28– Blessed be the Lord, the God of our fathers, who put such a thing as this into the heart of the king, to beautify the house of the Lord that is in Jerusalem, and who extended to me his steadfast love before the king and his counselors, and before all the king’s mighty officers. I took courage, for the hand of the Lord my God was on me, and I gathered leading men from Israel to go up with me.
In everything we do, we should glorify God for His faithfulness. King Artaxerxes’s letter indicates the kind of life Ezra lived while in Babylonian captivity. Though the king did not believe in or recognize the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as the only true God, there was great respect for “their God.” Ezra’s life included believing in God, which won Artaxerxes’s remarkable trust. Otherwise, why would Artaxerxes promise him that he could “use the royal treasury to pay for anything else needed” for the temple in Jerusalem (verse 20)? However, Ezra did not take credit for Artaxerxes’s positive response.
The apostle Paul faithfully practiced this principle in Paul’s own life. Even though Paul used his human abilities to carry out the Great Commission for God, listen to his words of praise: Ephesians 3:20-21–Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. There is nothing that we can do without God. We are to use our talents and abilities for His glory.
Blessings–
Pastor Christopher
- Why is it more important for others to believe in us? Is God that important to us?
- Are we using our abilities for God?
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