Renewing Hope (Ezra 2:1)

Now, these were the people of the province who came up out of the captivity of those exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, had carried captive to Babylonia. They returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own town.
– Ezra 2:1

You go on reading in Ezra 2 and you see this list of names of people who God brought out of exile in Babylon back to Jerusalem. And as I read this verse and this list of names that follows, I’m overwhelmed by two things.

Ezra 2:1 reminds us that suffering is not the end of our story.

One, I’m overwhelmed by God’s promise not to leave his people in exile. Just remember this, for all who trust in God, exile will not be the end of your story. Suffering will not be the end of your story. Trials, challenges, even as a result of sin, that’s part of what the exile is. It’s a picture of God’s judgment do sin. But for all those who trust in God, exile will not be the end of your story. You will return. You will be brought back. All who trust in God, sin and sorrow and suffering will not be the end of your story.

And two, as you look at the list of names in Ezra 2, it’s such a beautiful reminder that God cares about each one of his people. That God cares about you. Just let this soak in a fresh ray, wherever you are right now, God cares about you. God knows your name. God has called your name. You belong to him, and you are treasure to him. He delights in you. All who trusted in Jesus, you are his daughter or his son. This is your identity, known, loved, and cherished by God. And to use language from Ezra 2, counted by God. You count in the economy of God, in the eyes of God. You matter deeply to God.

Ezra 2:1 encourages us to embrace hope and trust in God.

And so we pray, God, thank you for your personal love for each one of us as your children. I think about the multiple children I have and how much I love each one of them so much personally. And you, with an even more perfect love, a far more perfect love than I have as a dad, you love each of us personally and perfectly.

God, help us to live with this identity today as those who count before you, who are cherished by you, who are loved and called by name. And God, we praise you for your promise to never leave us in exile. God, I pray for all those who are walking through exile right now, who are walking through challenges, struggles, suffering, even those who are walking through consequences of sin in this world, oh God, I just pray your hope over all those who are in any kind of exile, that they would hold fast, keep their eyes fixed on you, and trust that you will bring them out of exile in due time.

Jesus, we praise you for your death on the cross for our sins, and your resurrection from the grave. We praise you for conquering sin and death so that we can know restoration, resurrection, will have the last word in each of our stories.

Prayer for the Berta People

Oh God, we pray for people for whom that is not a reality right now because they don’t know you. They don’t know your resurrection power. They’ve never even heard of the gospel.

God, we pray for the Berta people of Sudan, this people group of 369,000, who have little to no knowledge of Jesus. This Muslim people group, God. Please cause the Berta people of Sudan to be reached with the hope that is found in Jesus alone. Please use our lives, our families, our churches around the world and the church in South Sudan and neighboring countries. God, please cause the gospel to spread to the Bertha people of Sudan. We pray that they might be counted among your people. We pray all of this according to your Word in Ezra 2:1. In Jesus’ name, amen.