Fear of God

Wk 46 Day 3

Ezra 6:12
¹² May God, who has caused his Name to dwell there, overthrow any king or people who lifts a hand to change this decree or to destroy this temple in Jerusalem.
I Darius have decreed it. Let it be carried out with diligence.

.. There would only be one reason why Darius ordered what he decreed: Fear of God (possibly, through his respect for his ancestry)
.. When there were people who tried to oppose the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem, we see that no one can topple against the power of God in those who are obediently fearing Him.
.. Darius was used as an instrument to continue and conclude the rebuilding of the Temple.
.. His words gave so much authority - "May God... overthrow any king or people who lifts a hand to change this decree or destroy this temple in Jerusalem..."
.. He had full confidence that what he said and ordered to do (rebuilding the Temple) was definitely of God's command.
.. How did he know it was God's command? He searched out the the archives stored in the treasury at Babylon (6:1). He believed that through King Cyrus of Persia, the Lord had ordered to rebuild the temple; hence, he (King Darius) is respecting the ancestry (a huge deal in his time)

// Belle:

.. no one can interfere God's work - at any cost - no matter how old "the decree" is
.. there is no time limit to God's fulfillment of His plans to His creation
.. as long as we remain fearful of and to God, we will be able to discern His will - even fulfill what has not been fulfilled by our ancestry
.. we can be the instruments to "rebuild the temple" in our area of influence
.. it's true that fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge and wisdom - hence, it is important to constantly fear God in order to discern what to do. Otherwise, we will be mostly inclined to how the world operates - often times, out of order and messed up.
.. there may be times when we are questioned "Why?", but through our fear of God, we will be led to do what His will is. No one will overthrow God's work if we are faithful to His commands - to love and fear Him.

.. I WILL CONTINUE TO FEAR GOD in all that I do.
.. I want to know the will of God daily in my life
.. I want to be used as an instrument in fulfilling what my ancestry may not have finished due to various reasons I may not necessarily know
.. Where I am right now, I must not allow anything to interfere God's work - I can do this by fearing God alone and being careful to obey His word and commands in my life.
.. I have a great big powerful God - unfathomable - loving yet just.
.. I WILL FEAR HIM!

// Lord, how great are YOU! Thank you for letting me experience your goodness with the little amount of offering I give to you (my life). That's the least I can do. I pray that You keep my life on track with You in all that I do. I will fear you. Please remove anything that will try to hinder Your work in my life. Overthrow them and through my fear of You (which results to wisdom) I will know what to do. I will just fear You! IN EVERYTHING, in Your name, Jesus, Amen.