"The Hand of the Lord was Upon Me"

Scripture:  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. Ezra 7:28

Observation:  Ezra sees the hand of God at work in his life.  The king has granted permission and given resources for the temple to be restored.  Ezra sees this as the moving of God and the fulfillment of prophecy.  And in this, he sees that God's hand is upon him.  This gives him courage to act and gather leaders who will act with him.

Application:  often we are hesitant to be bold in life, feeling that we do not have the right to do this or that.  We fear being perceived as arrogant, or filled with hubris.  It seems that some christians equate courage with cockiness, and that humility=passivity.  But there are times when we can trust the hand of the Lord is upon us, and act with courage.  I feel I am in a season of this in my life right now. While this does not mean I am always right, it does mean I sense the moving of God in this time of history.  Like Ezra, I want to bless God, act with courage, and gather leaders around me to go up and follow God's hand.

Prayer:  God, I bless you, the God of my fathers.  Thank you for continuing to move.  Help me discern your hand, to humbly seek your moving, that I might act with courage to do what needs to be done.