Prayer Call: Voices in the Crowd

Good Morning, BFB!

This is a day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it. Today’s scripture focus: “But many of the older priests and Levites and family heads, who had seen the former temple, wept aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid, while many others shouted for joy. No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise. And the sound was heard far away.” -‭‭Ezra‬ ‭3‬:‭12‬-‭13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The Israelites under the direction of King Cyrus have been allowed to return and rebuild the temple. They have laid the foundation and those present begin to respond. There were different responses - some of rejoicing and some of weeping. This morning we will focus on these voices in the crowd. These different voices tells us that there will always be conflicting voices but we cannot allow those conflicting voices to stop us from moving forward with God's plan for us even when we may not understand what He's doing in the right now.

There are voices of a past perspective. Those that had seen the former temple - they wept. It doesn't tell us why they wept but perhaps it was because they were remembering the glory of the former temple. Perhaps they were so focused on what was, they couldn't see the beauty in what God was doing now. We too have seasons where we are weeping because we are having a hard time letting go of our past. The challenge for us today is honoring our past while moving forward with the plans God has for us. As we lay our foundation on Christ, we are being called to focus on what God is requiring of us right now while honoring what He's done for us and realizing that He's already provided for tomorrow.
 
There are voices of a present praise. Some shouted for joy at the laying of the foundation. They were not focused on what had been lost but what God was building. They saw this as a new beginning. A time of restoration. A time of reestablishing purpose. There are times that we need to stop and praise God for what He is doing now. Even when thing are not looking the way we expected, can we praise God for what He is doing in the right now? It may not look like how He did it then, but we must praise Him for how He's doing it now for those who weren't there back then. The voices of a present praise only had what they were currently building. This was not a rebuilding for them. This was a right now occurrence and they gave a right now praise. Are we able to do the same with those who are experiencing something new with God?

Together the voices of a past perspective and those of a present praise - gave a powerful proclamation. The voices were so loud together that those listening couldn't distinguish shouts of joy from sounds of weeping. This should be a reminder to us today that what we say, how we respond, and how we process what's going on in our lives will effect those around us. How do we respond? With everything that happens around us, will we respond in a way that reflects our trust in God? Will we respond in a way that lifts God up so He can draw others in? Will we allow our response to cause division or unity? Our voices TOGETHER are a powerful proclamation of the God that we serve.
 
No matter what is going on around us, there will always be different voices. There will be those of the past perspective and those of the present praise and together they will be a powerful proclamation. As we reflect this week, let's pray on how we will blend our voices to powerfully proclaim that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Let us focus on how our voices will bring glory to God as we center, connect, and contribute with one another.

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