Hope, Day 10 Hope together with others. Read Ezra chapter 10. As we read through this concluding chapter in the book of Ezra, we see that even in the midst of sin and repentance, Ezra was not alone. The people came. They supported him. They rallied around him. They repented from their sin and they sought to be better than they were. Hope is better together. When we have other people who have the same faith in God that we do, we will find encouragement as we hope together. Who do we need to surround ourselves with so that we have that support? Who in our lives does not provide…

Hope, Day 9 Hope in repentance. Read Ezra chapter 9. If you are ever confronted with your sin and need an example of a prayer of deep, heart-felt, profound repentance, Ezra chapter 9 is your go to. Here we see Ezra learning that the people have continued to commit sin, and he is broken by this. He falls down on his face before the Lord to plead and beg their repentance. Ezra had a high level hope and faith and trust in God, but he recognizes just how deeply the people have sinned against God. And, he sees just how profound God’s judgment could have been against them. Recognizing what…

Hope, Day 8 Hope lived out. Read Ezra chapter 8. Many of us have heard the statement, you better put your money where your mouth is. That is exactly the situation that Ezra is facing in this chapter. He has told the king about how awesome and powerful God is, and the king believes him. Now Ezra is having to make a dangerous journey with a lot of money. He needs to rely solely on God for his protection because if he asks the king for protection, it will look like he doesn’t trust God. When it comes down to it, do we really believe and live what we say?…

Hope, Day 7 Hope lived out. Read Ezra chapter 10. Here we learn a little bit more about the prophet Ezra. We see his relationship with the king of Persia, and we understand more about how the king determined to allow the Israelites to follow through on what God had committed them to do. Interestingly we also see that Ezra was the embodiment of the hope that he had. Ezra studied what he need to do. He lived it out. He taught others to do the same. Our hope must be more than just something inside us. Our hope in Christ must be something that we are always wanting to…

Hope, Day 6 Joyful hope. Read Ezra chapter 6. You know that point in the movie where you see the hero or heroine, who has been knocked down the entire show, rise up in victory and conquer their enemies? That’s the feeling I get when I read this chapter. The people of Israel have been vindicated for everything they were saying. As a bonus, all of their enemies ended up having to help them accomplish God’s will. Here at the end of the construction project, we see the people celebrating by offering sacrifices to the Lord and observing the holidays that God had instituted before. The people have joy. When…

Hope, Day 5 Hope restored. Read Ezra chapter 5. Time has passed and God has renewed and restored the hope of people to continue to obey him and follow through on the plans. The Prophets have come and shared God’s word and God’s will with the people. They have started working again. The enemies didn’t go away. In fact, the enemies came back and tried to stop the work again but this time the people are prepared. They are going to obey regardless of any enemies standing in their way. Their hope has been renewed and restored. We can know that God is going to do something. We can have…

Hope, Day 4 Hope, frustrated. Read Ezra chapter 4. No matter what we do, we are always going to encounter enemies. There will always be people who do not want God’s work to move forward. The people here experienced the same and these enemies were able to impact the work. They were able to get the king to order the work to stop. It can be tremendously frustrating to know what God’s will is and to be moving in the direction of God’s will, and then to an experience a roadblock. Hope can be frustrated by outside forces. But just because hope is frustrated doesn’t mean the hope is gone.…