Whose to blame?
The possible answers to this question may be multiple, but the real one is singular. Yes, people have a way of making life difficult and derailing our plans. Without a doubt it is the enemy, Satan himself, who works to frustrate the plans and purposes of God in our lives. Paul tells us he is the main one we wrestle with (Ephesians 6:10ff). Yet, beneath Paul's words is something in operation that is even more sinister. It is a combination and partnership that, together, forms a community of opposing darkness.
In Ezra, God stirs the heart of Cyrus, a pagan king, to decree that the people should rebuild a house for the Lord in Jerusalem. The people, then, commence the work but it is not long not before a group of people arrive seeking to help the people of God in the rebuilding effort. They claim that they, too, worship the Lord (Ezra 4:2). We are told in Ezra 4:1, however, that these people were actually "adversaries". They are pretending to be allies with God's people, but have a sinister intention to "frustrate their purpose" (Ezra 4:5). They were seeking to deceive the people in order to get near to them so that they could frustrate their plans. The leaders, however, discerned and rejected this request.
This got me thinking about the sinister way connections of opposing darkness deceive in order to frustrate God's purpose in my life. The real challenge is that this connection of opposing darkness includes the world, the devil and me, the flesh (Ephesians, 2:3- the order is changed intentionally). In reflecting on this passage in Ezra I began to see, in clearer ways, how I have listened to the deception of the flesh (to myself) too many times and how this, in large part, has frustrated God's purposes in my life.
In listening to the deception of my flesh I made choices that went against the call and purpose of the Lord for my life. Over the course of my life and ministry I made good choices that were not God's choices and these derailed the path towards purpose. The seemingly "good" choices are the most deceptive and, consequently, these can lead to disastrous choices, ship-wrecking of the faith, choices.
So what do we do?
Well, first, we remember and continuously remind ourselves of the hope of the gospel. Jesus is our hope, not our perfections. Even our imperfections are not killers of this hope. Despite our failures in life, heart and otherwise, the message of the cross is still the same: "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1).
Second, we get ten toes deep in the Word of God. The reasons Zerubbabel and the others could reject the deception of what seemed "good" and helpful, is that they had eyes that could see behind the physical. This is what discernment is. The choices that come at us each day are many and the need to decide, sometimes, does not allow for long and prayerful deliberation. Therefore, when we are being deep in the Word, letting it swirl around our minds and shape our affections, our spiritual seeing (discernment) becomes more keen. Our decision making, then, can be more aligned with the purposes of God rather than the empty and derailing promises of others, including myself - the flesh.
Third, make the choice to not walk and or to make major decisions in isolation. Ezra 4:3 tells us that the decision to reject the help of these men was not made by one person. Ezra tells us
"But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of fathers’ houses in Israel said to them, “You
have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God; but we alone will build to the Lord,
the God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.”
The plurality of persons in that decision is not hard to miss. What about your decisions?
So what of you? What of us, those who long to fulfill the purposes of God in this world in and through our lives? Will we let the seductive whispers of the flesh deceive us away from the hard, narrow, cross way of glory? The flesh is not for us. It is only and always the spokesperson for the community of darkness - the world, flesh and devil - that opposes every good thing God has for us.
This year let's resolve, in the grace of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, to not allow God's plans for and through us to be frustrated in 2025.
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