I’m trying to think of a time in my life when I was physically at risk because of my faith. I can’t.
The point is important to me this morning because I’m trying to put myself into Ezra’s shoes. Ezra got permission to take some of the Jews and go back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. He was ready to leave, but had a prayer service before taking off. Here’s how it’s described in Ezra 8:21-23.
“There, by the Ahava Canal, I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions. I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to protect us from enemies on the road, because we had told the king, ‘The gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to him, but his great anger is against all who forsake him.’ So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer.”
It’s interesting to me that Ezra didn’t dare ask the king for guards, having stated his confidence in God. He felt endangered, or he wouldn’t have thought about it. But he chose to trust God rather than overcome his embarrassment and request soldiers from the king.
Not having ever been in that situation, I don’t know how I would react. I suspect, though, that I might default to the old saying, “God helps those who help themselves.” I’d probably make my case to the king for as large a guard detachment as possible.
Sometimes I meet or hear of people who put their lives on the line in faith to God. Often they’re missionaries like my brother. Sometimes they’re high school kids, like the ones killed in the Columbine shooting. Always they bring up for me the same question - would I show that kind of faith?
Probably - I’ve shown it in a lot of other areas of my life. But I’m not certain. I am grateful for the examples they set. And I pray for faith like that.
I, too, have been challenged occasionally as to how strong my faith is...really! My challenges are usually in pretty safe circumstances, interestingly. One particular challenge by a student (the source of many verbal challenges for me) sounded something like this: How can you be so sure of a strong faith if you've never worked (taught) in a school or college that isn't Christian? That challenge sticks with me. I started to look for jobs in colleges that weren't distinctively Christian. I even interviewed at one and a friend of mine (who also worked there) told me before the interview, "I know your faith is very important to you, but I don't think it will be a problem as long as it doesn't come up in the interview." At that moment, I felt like an outsider in an enemy camp. And my faith did come up in the interview occasionally. And I wasn't offered the job, although that may have had more to do with the fact that it was for teaching courses for which I wasn't especially qualified. And now I'm at Dordt...and I still wonder about the strength of that faith.
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