There is a story about a little boy who was playing in his sandbox. He had with him his box of cars and trucks, his plastic pail, and a shiny, red plastic shovel. In the process of creating roads and tunnels in the soft sand, he discovered a large rock in the middle of the sandbox. The boy dug around the rock and managed to dislodge it from the dirt. With no little bit of struggle, he pushed and nudged the rock across the sandbox by using his feet. (He was a very small boy and the rock was rather large.) When the boy got the rock to the edge of the sandbox, however, he found that he couldn’t roll it up and over the little wall.
Determined, the little boy shoved, pushed, and pried, but every time he thought he had made some progress, the rock tipped and then fell back into the sandbox. The little boy grunted, struggled, pushed, shoved-but his only reward was to have the rock roll back, smashing his little fingers. Finally he burst into tears of frustration. All this time the boy’s father watched from his living room window as the drama unfolded.
At the moment the tears fell, a large shadow fell across the boy and the sandbox. It was the boy’s father.
Gently but firmly he said, “Son, why didn’t you use all the strength that you had available?”
Defeated, the boy sobbed back, “But I did, Daddy, I did! I used all the strength that I had!”
“No, son,” corrected the father kindly. “You didn’t use all the strength you had. You didn’t ask me.”
With that the father reached down, picked up the rock, and removed it from the sandbox.
In reading the Book of Ezra, it’s clear that Ezra faced tremendous obstacles. His call from God was to restore the people of Jerusalem to the understanding of and obedience to the Word of God. He was also responsible for reconstructing the religious life of the returned exiles. No small tasks! But before he could even start, he had to take a four month journey from Babylon through dangerous desert wilderness to get there. He couldn’t just catch a flight. He traveled both by foot and camel and was continually under the threat of bandits. No doubt Ezra faced major obstacles. And yet, he was successful in all that he undertook.
And what was the reason for his success? “The hand of the Lord his God was on him,” (Ezra 7:6). This statement is made six times in today’s two chapters with regard to Ezra. You might think of it as the theme of his life or the bumper sticker that described him. What does it mean, though? It means that the provision and power of God operated in his life. It means that God protected and guided him every step of the way. It means that he enjoyed favor with the Lord and was used by God to accomplish His purposes.
And why did Ezra receive this favor? Ezra 7:10 tells us, “Ezra had committed himself to studying the Revelation of God, to living it, and to teaching Israel to live its truths and ways.” Ezra was single minded in his pursuit of God. He did not attempt to live both for the world and for God — with a little church mixed into his plans for life. Ezra was fully committed to God and his heart was unwavering. His mind was set to know and obey the Lord in everything. He spent time with God and studied the scriptures so that he lived out a life that clearly pleased God. And he taught others to do the same. God is always looking for people who will draw close to him and cooperate with his purpose to reach others for his kingdom. His favor rests upon them. Do you have His favor?
What are the obstacles facing you today? Have you tried with all your strength to remove them? If you are committed to God, you have His strength and you have His favor. Call out to Him and watch Him move the boulders in your life.
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