Occasionally the media trumpets an “overnight success.” An actor triumphs in a critically acclaimed performance. An athlete catapults from nowhere to notoriety. We love those stories.
But overnight successes … aren’t.
We see the fruits of their labor. Not their labor.
It makes me think of Ezra.
Ezra’s backstory
To set the stage: In In 539 BCE, Persian King Cyrus the Great issued an edit that allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem and the land of Judah. He also (1) ordered the Temple to be rebuilt, (2) returned what his predecessors had plundered from the first Temple, and (3) made Judah a self-governing Jewish province under the Persian Empire. All were mind-blowing provisions from the world’s biggest superpower.
Ezra led the third wave of Israelite exiles from Babylon to Jerusalem.
Even though Persia’s king had sanctioned Jerusalem’s rebuilding, the work hit snags and stops. Samaritans—people in Judah’s back yard—“set out to discourage the people … and make them afraid to build. They hired counselors against them to frustrate their plans throughout the reign of Cyrus king of Persia and down to the reign of Darius king of Persia.”
That translates to twenty-eight years of harassing the Jews throughout three kings’ reigns. Naysayers also took legal action, pressing the highest Persian courts with slanderous arguments, denouncements, and censure against the Jews. They shouldn’t be allowed to do what Cyrus or Darius had authorized. (Does that ring a bell with anything happening today?)
In fact, by royal order, all work on Jerusalem was halted for eighteen years.
Are you tracking the math?
Roadblock busted
Finally, someone wrote a letter of complaint to Artaxerxes (son of Xerxes, famous for marrying Esther). A local Persian governor (Tattenai) took notice. Instead of assuming the allegations were true, he ordered an investigation of Persia’s annals to confirm whether previous kings had authorized the Jews’ return and rebuilding. Thankfully, Persia was meticulous in recording its history. But think of all the archives the Persians dug through to go back that far! That would have been like us unearthing obscure history from the ’70s without the help of computers.
In an amazing turn of events that demonstrated God’s faithfulness and sovereignty, the proper documents were found. Artaxerxes allowed Ezra and others to resume work on the Temple and Jerusalem. The king additionally supported Nehemiah to do the same.
Overnight successes … aren’t
Nothing happened overnight. Everything transpired as a result of great sweat equity and God’s limitless sovereignty.
Overnight successes don’t happen overnight. Or in a vacuum.
Governor Tattenai’s selfless act paved the way for building plans to be completed. The Jewish prophets Haggai and Zechariah encouraged Ezra and prophesied about the importance of rebuilding the Temple. One of Zechariah’s most well-known utterances embodies the entire effort: “Not by might, not by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6).
Coming face to face with a dream
When you stand face to face with your dream, you must choose to face down all opposition to it. Otherwise, dreams remain in the realm of imagination. Enticing possibilities have no risk of failure when they aren’t reality yet.
If you’re in the middle of something that’s taking longer than you expected … if you’re discouraged that your efforts aren’t panning out … I pray you’ll take heart from Ezra’s story. Somewhere in your story is a Darius, a Tattenai, a Haggai, a Zechariah. I don’t know what you need to persevere in your dream, but I do know you can ask God to provide His means, measure of grace, and mentors to come alongside of you—including Himself. With God’s hand on your project, you will not fail.
Age is not part of the equation
I’m two weeks away from launching my first traditionally published book, a biblical fiction novel called New Star. If you glance at my photo on my About page, you’ll know I’m well over fifty. I’m so glad that God never says age disqualifies you from His service! We don’t know Ezra’s exact age when he led the Jews back to Jerusalem, but he had been a scribe and was a practicing priest before he ventured out, so he had to be older than thirty. The exodus to Jerusalem took more than four months. Then Ezra spent well over forty-five years rebuilding the city—while facing harassments, legal battles, and more. Yet he succeeded.
You can, too.
[My last blog before this talks about meeting God on your mountain. I encourage you to read these two blogs together.]
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