August 3 - Because of God, I Have Courage

August 3 - Because of God, I Have Courage
Ezra 7:28

Ezra had just received a letter from King Artaxerxes affirming that any Jew in his kingdom who wished to return to Jerusalem was free to go.  He sent a great deal of silver and gold with them and the promise that enough funds would be provided to rebuild the temple.  In that letter, the King returned the power of the rule of the Law to Ezra and the priests, other than the authority to tax the people.  However, Ezra was given permission to appoint a judicial system for all who claimed to be part of the Jewish faith.

After all the Jews had been through, with a few strokes of the pen by a Persian king, they were free once again.

Ezra recognized the hand of God at work in the life of King Artaxerxes.  He knew that it had nothing to do with the letters he’d sent and the pleas he’d made before Artaxerxes and Darius. It was the grace of God.

“Praise be to the Lord, the God of our fathers, who has put it into the king’s heart to bring honor to the house of the Lord in Jerusalem in this way and who has extended his good favor to me before the king and his advisers and all the king’s powerful officials. Because the hand of the Lord my God was with me, I took courage and gathered leading men from Israel to go up with me.” (Ezra 7:27-28)

Because the hand of the Lord was with me, I took courage.

We are nothing like the Cowardly Lion. His medal showed that he truly had courage within himself.  But, that was all about a medal and personal courage.  Our courage comes from within us, but it needn’t be based on our own fortitude.

Today, take courage. The hand of the Lord is with you.