Are you up against a wall? Be encouraged, for the heart of the king is in the hand of the Lord – things are about to get better! In Ezra 7:11 Artaxerxes, king of Assyria receives an inquiry from Tatnai the governor concerning the work of God being done in Jerusalem. Tatnai wanted the work to cease but instead Artaxerxes commands that all the gold, silver, lumber and materials needed to be given to Ezra and the workers to finished the work. What Tatnai meant for evil God turned the heart of the king for the good of the Jews in Jerusalem. What does this teach us:
[Pro 21:1 KJV] 1 The king’s heart [is] in the hand of the LORD, [as] the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.
God will turn even a pagan king’s heart to bless you. There may be people around you that seek your hurt and want to stop what God is doing in your life. Be encouraged. Like Ezra, turn your heart to God in prayer. Believe in His mercy and his willingness to turn even the hardest of hearts to bless you and advance the very thing in your life that they have previously opposed. Remember the words of the Psalmist:
[Pro 16:7 KJV] 7 When a man’s ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.
People often wonder how to posture themselves before the Lord in such a way that they open themselves to this level of favor. In the New Covenant there are two things, and believe it or not they are very practical things that can be applied right now at this very moment: faith and love.
[Heb 11:6 KJV] 6 But without faith [it is] impossible to please [him]: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and [that] he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Jesus asked “when I come will I find faith on the earth…” (Luke 18:8). He isn’t looking for some convoluted spiritual principle or protocol to be installed in your life – that is dead religion even if it originates in the latest Christian “craze.”
[1Co 13:8 KJV] 8 Love never fails…
Why would you step out of love? Are you concerned about a failing marriage? A failing business or failing health? Love activates faith, period. All else is religious thinking. When you walk in love you are living in a no-fail zone of life and God will put you over and you will succeed.
You may be facing discouragement and difficulty. Unhelpful people may abound ini your situation with no mercy or clemency in their hearts toward you. Be encouraged. Wrap yourself in the truth of God’s word and extract the substance of God’s faith from His promise and purpose above all else to walk in love no matter what. In time you will see the Pharoah’s and Artaxerxes in your life yield even against their nature and work to bless in you the very things they have cursed. This is the example of Ezra and you can lean into it and see change come.
