Divine Protection

“I proclaimed a fast so that we might humble ourselves before our God, and ask him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions.” Ezra 8:21

It equates to about a 48 hour journey by car, plane, taxi, and bus. This is the combination of transportation that my eldest son had to undergo recently in order to be reunited with his wife as he traveled from our family home here in Nebraska to Uganda. That makes for a lot of connections and a lot of possibilities for things to go wrong. In an age of jet travel when we can boast of “dinner in New York and lunch in Paris”, unfortunately we could also add “luggage in Amsterdam” – oops! Travelling across the globe then travelling into a third world country that appears to operate on a more organic and haphazard set of rules than we in the west are accustomed to makes for a high level of stress. Imagine grabbing a mini bus taxi, designed to seat 8, and finding yourself one of 14 passengers buzzing down the highway and dodging anything in your way! Although our son was only responsible for himself he did have precious cargo in the form of several suitcases and money that he needed to guard and ensure it all arrived at his destination intact. Would he make it?

Our Scripture passage today references Ezra’s leadership as he faced a long and potentially dangerous journey through some pretty formidable terrain. It is part of the account of the children of Israel returning to Jerusalem from their time of captivity in Babylon. Not only was it a long journey of about four months but it contained the risk of bandits and thieves upsetting the safety of the travelers and looting their possessions.  Ezra faced a choice to counter this threat. He is offered military protection from the foreign king but declines and chooses to radically trust in “God’s gracious hand” (v.22) to protect them. Ezra strategically and specifically directs the people to join him in petitioning God for their safety with fasting. And the Lord delivered them. Oh, by the way, my son made it too.

For most of us it is easy to trust in God for our day to day travel here in Nebraska. Cars are reliable and roads are good – risks are low. Yet could it be that God is waiting to deliver us from bigger and more formidable dangers that are ravaging or seeking to ravage our nation. I think of the threat to our religious freedom or the redefining of marriage. Might God be calling us to petition Him with fasting for safe passage?