So I was encouraged

Blessed be the Lord God of our fathers, who has put such a thing as this in the king's heart, to beautify the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem, and has extended mercy to me before the king and his counsellors, and before all the king's mighty princes. So I was encouraged, as the hand of the Lord my God was upon me; and I gathered leading men of Israel to go up with me. – Ezra 7.27-28

Ezra and the rest of the people were longing to go home, even though most of them had never been there. They all knew Jerusalem was where they belonged. The priests made them aware of that and it was close enough in time that they still remembered grandparents who remembered the city. Some of the leaders, like Ezra, were discouraged. Some of the people had already gone back – why were they stuck in Babylon?

But in the midst of the encouragement God sent the encouragement we mentioned yesterday. The king was behind the work and sent his support and his blessing on the mission to go back to Jerusalem.

‘So I was encouraged,’ said Ezra, ‘as the hand of the Lord was upon me.’

God’s encouragement is something every single one of us needs at times. We really mess up when we ignore God’s encouragement and instead get distracted by our own discouragements. God encourages us through His provision. He encourages us through others. He encourages us through bringing us through trials.

My problem is that I get so focused in the world’s discouragement that I miss God’s encouragement. If I focus on my discouragements I will get nowhere.

Lord, help me  to keep my eyes on your encouragements and not my discouragements.