Goals are my favorite. Knowing the desired end goal helps me to create a backwards plan from the future aim to today- kinda like backwards visioneering đ¤ This has been the rhythm of my life for most of my life, but there are times when the end goal seems impossible or even so big and so unclear that it feels unfathomable.
So what do we do when facing a middle moment of uncertainty?
Today in the One Year Bible, Ezra writes about the remnant of Jews whoâd returned home from years of Babylonian captivity.
The walls of their sacred city were torn down & even the foundation of The Temple was obliterated. I can almost picture the scene like a movie...melancholy music playing in the background, the Jews, who had just traveled over 800 miles, betwixt with emotion over their freedom & the poor state of affairs in their hometown.
If I were among the crowd, I wouldâve had so many emotions & just as many questions...WHY Lord, WHERE do we begin, HOW do we begin, we need safety so do we start with the walls???
Well God saw fit to first send Ezra, who was not a builder but rather a teacher of the law. Even though the Jewish people feared the local residents, they first began work on rebuilding the altar on its old site.
Ezra records how they began to
đđ˝Celebrate
đđ˝Sacrifice
đđ˝ & freely give offerings
morning & night!
Ezra didnât play - he made sure that the first & foremost thing they did as a nation was to make way to worship their God EVEN BEFORE the foundation was laid!
He knew that God sovereignly directed their steps home, so instead of trying to understand everything or make logical decisions upon arrival, he took responsibility & did the one thing he knew was vital- he trusted God with protection as he led the people to worship the One, True God.
I awakened in the middle of the night last night with a start...pondering many pending decisions that lay before me. Iâm not sure where to begin because Iâm not sure where I am going, so I eventually did the one thing I know is sound and true- I called on Jesus. Iđđ˝
đđ˝Celebrated Him for who He is
đđ˝Sacrificed thanksgiving for the much Heâs done & has yet to do
đđ˝Freely offered the only thing I had - trust in Him alone.
Sometime later, nothing changed except the rhythm of my heart & the cadence of my thoughts as they became fixed on The One I can trust with all my heart. (Psalm 28:7)
Regardless of what things we face, we need not try to understand everything along the way because we follow a Good Shepherd who directs our steps. We need only make way for His praise & trust Him with the rest as we rest in Him.
August 6 One Year Bible Readings
Ezra 3:1-4:23
1 Corinthians 2:6-3:4
Psalm 28:1-9
Proverbs 20:24-25
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