The Jews were stepping into the unknown as they began their new life. There was a lot to be concerned about and they would have been very anxious. You may be familiar with this feeling. You may feel anxious about tomorrow, and perhaps you have a lot to be concerned about. If this is the case it is very important that you establish the right ‘bottom line’ concern. Your ‘bottom line’ concern is the one thing that, at all costs, cannot be lost or compromised. The one thing that the Jews would not lose sight of was their purpose. They were there to realise their purpose and be fruitful. A lot of things might have gone wrong. They might have suffered hardship and lack, but, if all this was going to get them to the fulfilment of their purpose, then nothing of ultimate value would be lost. If their priority was to buffer themselves against hardship then they would have first turned to these concerns. But this wasn’t their bottom line concern, at least initially. Their bottom line concern was to keep close to God and fulfil his purpose. So they began with worship and they established the place of worship, the temple. I would encourage you also to establish a ‘worship space’ in your life as a top priority. You can afford to lose everything but God. You cannot afford to lose touch with God because then your whole life goes off course and it all becomes futile.
Ask God to fill you with his Spirit and spend some time waiting in stillness before him.
Read Ezra 3:7-13
