A Practical Approach to Increasing One's Faith

  I find it fascinating how Scriptures can give us ongoing dialogue with God if we allow His word to speak into our lives.  This past Friday I wrote an article about increasing our puny faith taken from the gospel according to Luke.  A typical article takes far longer for me to edit than to write.  Not quite ready for prime time, I took the weekend to read and re-write my piece.  I wanted to make sure my message was clear.  Honestly, sometimes when I read my own writing it is like I’m writing in a foreign language.  I shake my head wondering what point I was trying to make as I unscramble sentences and delete paragraphs.  Sometimes I start over from scratch.  This time was no exception.  It took a lot of patience on my part to make as many corrections as possible before I hit the send button.  Sometimes I feel like the queen of grammatical error, but faith in what God wants to say through my writing drives me to continue.  I know that God can use my imperfections for His glory.  Thank you to those who have encouraged my writing.  God knows when I need words of affirmation, and He uses you to give them to me at just the right moment.  Please don't take this as a request for a compliment; God is able to supply all my needs.  
     Just before hitting the send button on Monday morning I re-read my article for the fifteenth time, I kid you not.  Then I realized how close this writing revealed itself in my weekend experiences.  I really needed to answer some of the questions I posed to you, my readers.  The Holy Spirit has been actively breathing His truth in my ear for many months now, but what I experienced this morning was something like this.  “Rhonda, I’m not finished with this topic, I think there is much more to be said about faith and how one seeks to understand it.  Let me tell you about my servant Ezra."  

     Ezra was a priest in the line of Aaron (the original high priest and Moses brother).  In the seventh chapter of Ezra, we can actually count the generations from Aaron to Ezra  as he spells this genealogy out for our benefit.  He is the 16^th generation from Aaron; I won’t bore you with the “begottens,' or should I say 'begats?"   Ezra must have wanted us to know his lineage, a true Levite.  He is credited with writing the priestly accounts of the Kings in the books of 1 and 2 Chronicles.  He also proclaims that he was well-known for his understanding of the Law of Moses.  

     The book of Ezra says that the King of Persia found favor with him because the king had noticed that the hand of Yahweh was on him (Ezra 7:6).  As a Christian, how significant would it be to hear that you were recognized for finding favor with God?  I think this would be awesome because that would mean my life testified of God.  It would mean my 'salt and light' was showing (see Matthew chapter 5). 

     Ezra had received a letter from the King which he posted for us to read in chapter 7.  This was his version of social media (a scroll) that didn't scroll off the screen like our social media feeds today.  How important it must have been to Ezra to have the King write a personal letter to him, giving him an elevated position to serve God, back in his homeland no less.  This letter arrived after the 70-year exile where Israel had suffered the consequences of their poor behavior before God.  This letter came in the 7th year of King Artaxerxes.  

     The letter gave permission to Ezra to take companions along with him, including Israelites, and specifically priests and Levites, who wanted to return to Jerusalem.  He was given possession of the land from which they had been removed.  They were recognized as rightful owners.  In addition to lay claim to the land, the king also handed them money (silver and gold) from the Babylonians whom the Persians had overthrown.  This money was to be used as provision to buy animals for sacrificial offerings to God.  He was allowing them to return to their own spiritual practices.  King Artaxerxes  also grant complete autonomy in the use of any left-over money to serve God how Ezra saw fit.  They too were given access to the King’s Royal Treasury to pay for anything that went above and beyond their budget.  This would have been like winning the lottery.  Had any slaves in history ever been treated so well?

     Not only was Ezra given resources, but he was also told to rule by appointing his own magistrates, and judges.  And if he couldn’t find the right men for these positions, he was commissioned to train them himself.  He was given full authority to self-govern God's people according to the knowledge he held of God's will.  He was allowed to execute judgment as God's Law commanded.  This meant he had power over life and death, imprisonment, banishment, and confiscating property.  Ezra knew that this favor couldn’t have possibly come from the King himself.  Ezra praised God for the privilege to serve Him in this position.  Compared to Noah in the Old Testament, and later Mary, the mother of Jesus in the New Testament, it appears that God's favor rested well on Ezra.  

     King Artaxerxes, greatly influenced by God, gave Ezra both resources and authority because he understood the power behind Israel's God.  He knew that finding favor with this nation of people was good for his own wellbeing.  

A Story of Faith

     It would take Ezra four months to travel from Persia to Jerusalem through dangerous territory.  It appears from a quick count that Ezra would be taking approximately 1,500 men with him.  Then Ezra realized that he did not have a good showing from the Levitical tribes, he could account for no priests among the 1,500 men.  He gathered another 250 men who held ties to the priesthood.  He would rely upon them to help him restore Israel's understanding of what it meant to be faithful to God according to their law.  This population of people would not have included women and children who also traveled with them.  Ezra was held accountable for all provisions given to him, and he arrived in Jerusalem with a stellar reputation.  Before departing, Ezra gathered together with the people by the river's edge instructing them on their dependence on God.  Like their wanderings in the wilderness generations before, they resolved to fully rely on God. 

     Faith begins by looking to God, not man, for security.  In Ezra 8:21 we read, “I proclaimed a fast by the Ahava River, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask Him for a safe journey for us, our children, and all our possessions.”   It was not uncommon to see prayer accompanied by fasting.  The apostle Paul took his first missionary trip with Barnabas in Acts after prayer and fasting.  This is what Ezra records next, “I did this because I was ashamed to ask the king for infantry and cavalry to protect us from enemies during the journey, since we had told him, “The hand of our God is gracious to all who seek Him, but His great anger is against all who abandon Him.” (Ezra 8:22)   The King who had just appointed Ezra was now watching him demonstrate his faith in God.  It is like putting your money where your mouth is.  Like the verse in Luke 12:48 reveals, "to whom much is given, much will be expected."  How could Ezra not show faith in the God who favored him?  This demonstration of faith went well-beyond convincing King Artaxerxes, it would be highly important to lead the 1,750 men with this same faith.  
     So the lesson that I received from the 17th chapter of Luke causing me to write the article called "Increase My Puny Faith," is reinforced through this account.  Acting responsibly on the assignment God provides is a great way to increase our faith.  So can your faith be tied to an action?  Can you recount a time when a response was required of you to grow your faith?  The next verse in Ezra says, "So we fasted and pleaded with our God about this and He granted our request."  (Ezra 8:23) Is it possible that this story, hidden within the memories of Ezra holds the key for us to respond differently than the disciples who asked Jesus to increase their faith?  Can we instead, respond with confidence to the journey we are on to demonstrate God's mighty hand when we do His will?