By David Faust
Do the streets in your neighborhood have potholes? Freezing and thawing, excessive heat, heavy traffic, and poor maintenance create those irritating craters. But beyond the annoyance factor, potholes also are hazardous and expensive, causing accidents and damaging cars. According to a study by AAA, over a five-year period, 15 percent of American drivers sustained vehicle damage from potholes. Altogether, potholes cause an estimated $3 billion per year in vehicle damage—not including the cost of patching the holes.
If you drive, you will travel some rough roads. And this is true in other areas of life as well. A starry-eyed bride and groom may not realize their marriage faces potholes ahead. College graduates starting new jobs will navigate bumpy roads over the course of their careers. Churches go through rough patches. So do families and friendships.
The book of Ezra tells how a group of exiled Jews traveled back to Jerusalem to rebuild God’s temple, but it wasn’t a smooth and easy journey. Their story reveals some principles that can help us travel rough roads of our own.
Human Opposition Doesn’t Override God’s Position
When the Jews arrived in Jerusalem and started building, hostile tribes nearby didn’t want them to reestablish a foothold in the Holy City. “Then the peoples around them set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to go on building” (Ezra 4:4). These rival groups used bribery, political pressure, and threats of violence to intimidate the Jews, but God’s will prevailed.
Delay Doesn’t Have to Mean Defeat
Under pressure from the Jews’ enemies, King Artaxerxes halted the construction project and for a while “the work on the house of God in Jerusalem came to a standstill” (Ezra 4:24). But as someone has said, “Waiting time isn’t wasting time.” The work was delayed, but ultimately it was completed according to God’s timetable.
Fear Doesn’t Have to Eliminate Faith
Ezra 3:3 says, “Despite their fear of the peoples around them, they built the altar on its foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the Lord, both the morning and evening sacrifices.” It doesn’t say they had no fear, denied their fear, or even overcame their fear. “Despite their fear” they obeyed the Lord.
If you wait until you feel no fear at all, you will never drive a car or fly in an airplane. If you wait till all your anxious feelings go away, you may never change and grow. If you say, “I’m too frightened to share my faith with a friend,” you will never do it. If you don’t trust God’s ability to provide, you will never know the joy of generous giving. If you wait till every member is carefree, your church will never pursue faith-stretching goals. If missionaries wait until every question is answered and every difficulty has been smoothed out, few will ever leave home for a foreign field.
Mountain climbers press on “despite their fear.” Cancer patients undergo chemotherapy or surgery “despite their fear.” Preachers proclaim difficult truths “despite their fear.” Faith doesn’t mean you never feel afraid. It means refusing to let fear dominate your decisions and actions. It means journeying forward despite the potholes. It means having enough confidence in God to say, “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you” (Psalm 56:3).
Personal Challenge: What rough spots are making your journey difficult right now? What opposition, delays, or fears do you need to overcome? Read Psalm 27 and watch for ways to keep going when the going gets tough.
This short message is very uplifting, pointing to the solid ground of scripture. Thank you for sharing!