How do we know it’s God? How do we know, when something good happens in our lives, that it’s a divine miracle and not just a natural occurrence? Maybe we overreact sometimes. For sure, not every event that someone calls a “move from God” is actually a move from God. And getting it wrong can leave us with a twisted idea of God’s goodness. So how do we know if something is actually God’s sovereignty at work?
Ezra’s answer seems clear: if it aligns with God’s will, it’s God’s work. Ezra was a highly studious scholar of the Word of God, and because he knew the Word of God so well, he knew God’s idea of holiness well. He knew the kinds of things God likes and the things God hates. So when the King of Persia decided to authorize a migration of exiled Jewish leaders back to Jerusalem to restore the nation to righteousness and bring glory to God from his holy temple, Ezra discerned the Lord bringing the restoration he had always promised to bring. God’s hand must be on this.
Just the same, if we are to do God’s will, it is so important for us to first know his will! Above all things, God desires loving relationships. This is why he blesses us abundantly and expects that we glorify him in all things. This is why he demands that his people turn from their sin back to him, and why he graciously redeems them in spite of their sin—and even from it. Every move God makes, he makes to redeem a relationship, out of love for his people, for the sake of his own glory.
But don’t just take it from me; be a student of the Word of God and discern the fullness of God’s will! Then you will be recognize when the Lord is moving to accomplish his perfect will, and then, when you become doers of his will and not only hearers, you will find the hand of the Lord your God on you. Ezra is a story of godly men seeing God moving, and then fearlessly getting on board. That’s what godly men and women do even today. Praise be to the Lord; he moves, and his loving, protecting hand is on those who move with him!
