For some life can be tough and long for others easy. Life can also be short and sweet or short and difficult. We do not get to choose our condition of birth. Where we are born, what country, family, mental or physical condition we are born into is out of our control.
Ezra 4:4-5 (MSG)
4-5 So these people started beating down the morale of the people of Judah, harassing them as they built. They even hired propagandists to sap their resolve. They kept this up for about fifteen years, throughout the lifetime of Cyrus king of Persia and on into the reign of Darius king of Persia.
The former inhabitants of Judah, who had been taken captive by the King of Babylon 70 years prior, were now back in Jerusalem. The King of Cyrus had sent back all those who chose to go with a command to rebuild the temple of God. Judah’s old enemies were not very happy about their return. So the old enemies began to come around and harass the people of Judah who had returned to Jerusalem. They tried to get them to stop the work of rebuilding the temple and the city. They even hired propagandists for about 15 years to try to sap their resolve.
Resolve is the ability to persevere regardless of how difficult the circumstances. There are many difficult circumstances we will face in life. For some the difficulties are greater than we can imagine. Regardless of the circumstances we might face, the outcome will be directly connected to the amount of resolve we have to persevere.
Where do we get resolve? When we receive Jesus as our Lord, we are endowed with resolve. We are given The Holy Spirit and the fruits of The Spirit to help us through this earthly journey. The enemy will send propagandists our way to try to beat us down. He will sometimes use people, some unknowingly, to try to sap our resolve. The enemy will bombard our thought life to try to get us to receive his propaganda as truth.
We have been given a commission by King Jesus Himself to go and rebuild the temple of our lives, our hearts, and the temple of His body, others. We don’t need to be fearful of the enemy or let his propaganda sap our resolve.
Regardless of the condition we are born into, country, family, mental or physical condition we are loved by God. He sent His Son Jesus and the gift of The Holy Spirit to help us through this life. The Holy Spirit will give us the resolve to make it through as we invite Him into our lives. We have a commission from the True King and the backing of God’s Kingdom on our side; we will succeed!