A Firm Place

Ezra 9:8,9 says, "But now, for a brief moment, the Lord our God has been gracious in leaving us a remnant and giving us a firm place in his sanctuary, and so our God gives light to our eyes and a little relief in our bondage. Though we are slaves, our God has not deserted us in our bondage. He has shown us kindness in the sight of the kings of Persia. He has granted us new life to rebuild the house of our God and repair its ruins, and he has given us a wall of protection in Judah and Jerusalem." (NIV) Notice what the verse says about a firm place in his sanctuary. The NKJV translates the firm place to be a "peg" which is in reference to "claiming a stake". You can do a study of the events that happen in the book of Ezra and also Chronicles about the temple of God and how God has commissioned Ezra to be His prophet to lead His people in this time, but God has shown me just a small part of the scripture that speaks volumes to me this morning.

As referred to earlier, a "peg", or a "firm place", God wants us to know that we have a "stake" in His Kingdom as followers of Jesus Christ. This means that "no weapon formed against us shall prosper" (Isaiah 54:17), this means that we are "risen with Christ just as He is risen from the grave" (Colossians 3:1). We have a stake in something that is eternal. We have a hope in something this morning that no one, nobody, no circumstance, nothing - can take it away! You see, Ezra was a prophet of God that was humble before the Lord because of the sins of the people. In the same chapter in verse 5, it says that Ezra fell on his knees with his hands spread out to the Lord and prayed. This shows me of a posture that we as Christians need to be at all times, on our knees in prayer with a "humble heart and turning from our wicked ways and hearing from God" (2 Chronicles 7:14).

I believe this morning with all my heart that if we have a need, that if we have lost loved ones that need to be saved, that if we have a "thorn in the flesh" we can take a "stake" and humble ourselves before the Lord in prayer and fasting then we will see the hand of God move in a mighty way. Join with me today and be like the prophet Ezra and get in the right "posture" and be "humble" and claim the stake and blessings that God has for His children.