Life is not fair.  Those who know me well know that I am not a pessimist. I am the opposite—I tend to think that somehow unfairness that leads to heartache can be and must be turned around with love, kindness, and understanding.  But there are some days that I must accept that life here on our imperfect planet earth is not fair.  “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world,” says Jesus our Savior. But too many of us skip over the “you will have trouble” part to thinking of Jesus as our Fixer of all the things that we don’t like about this world and how others treat us.  This thinking seems a bit shallow of us, isn’t it?

“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.” James 1:2-4, NLT (Bold emphasis mine.)

God inspired James, most say the brother of Jesus who believed after the resurrection, wrote these words of wisdom.  WHEN troubles come; not if.  ALLOW these troubles, unfair or not for that is not the issue.  Rather allow troubles to be used by God to grow our faith, trust, and love for God! 

Want to be more like Jesus?  How did Jesus handle the unfairness of life?  Did He not live with unfair accusations, betrayals, whippings with spikes that torn his skin from the bone, and then be nailed to a cross designated for criminals to publicly die upon in humiliation ?  Jesus was without sin, committed no crime, but yet He willing allowed His Body to be used by God, His Father, to pay the debt for our sins.  Did he once cry out to God, unfair!  Jesus, in the garden, prayed passionately for another way to accomplish what God wanted, but then thought of us and what God commanded and resigned Himself to finish his prayer—“Not my will; but Yours be done.” 

Paul, blinded briefly which stopped his mission to kill new believers, was led by the hand to be transformed completely by Jesus who changed everything about Saul/Paul in this scary experience.  Paul with a new heart began a new mission to lead people to Christ.  But in his new calling in a troubled world; he faced beatings, imprisonment, along with constant mocking from unbelievers and former friends. 

Life was not fair for Paul.  But unfairness, betrayal, and all troubles didn’t stop his mission—God used it for His glory and many lost were saved in Jesus Name!  Inspired by God’s Holy Spirit, active, alive, and working in Paul to mature his faith; he passionately wrote;

“But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” Philippians 3:7-12

Paul’s letter to the Philippians—dubbed by theologians as the “joy in all circumstances,” and the most positive book of the Bible.  Paul wrote this letter to the church while in chains, sitting in a jail cell. 

“In this world you will have troubles…” Life is not fair—but that is not the issue for Paul—knowing Jesus is his complete focus.

In our continuing saga of God’s story of the rebuilding of the Temple by his returning once exiled people, the opposition to God’s direction raises their game by writing a “tattletale” letter to the highest power available to them—King Darius.  Since the mail system crawled at a snail’s pace, (making our USPS look amazing in speed), God’s people continued the work in the wait.  Why, because God also gave His people “cheerleaders” to encourage them!   

Never underestimate the power of the faithful preaching of God’s Word. Haggai began his ministry of the word 520 B.C. (Haggai. 1:1), and five of his messages are recorded in the book that bears his name. A month or two later, he was joined by a young man named Zechariah, a priest whom God had called to be a prophet (Zechariah 1:1). These two men delivered God’s Word to the leaders and the remnant.  Even though the opposition fought unfairly; God’s people kept on doing what God told them to be and do.

Ezra 5

Tattenai’s Letter to Darius

Now Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the prophet, a descendant of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them. ² Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Joshua son of Jozadak set to work to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were with them, supporting them.

³ At that time Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and their associates went to them and asked, “Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and to finish it?” ⁴ They also asked, “What are the names of those who are constructing this building?” ⁵ But the eye of their God was watching over the elders of the Jews, and they were not stopped until a report could go to Darius and his written reply be received.

⁶ This is a copy of the letter that Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and their associates, the officials of Trans-Euphrates, sent to King Darius. ⁷ The report they sent him read as follows:

To King Darius:

Cordial greetings.

⁸ The king should know that we went to the district of Judah, to the temple of the great God. The people are building it with large stones and placing the timbers in the walls. The work is being carried on with diligence and is making rapid progress under their direction.

⁹ We questioned the elders and asked them, “Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and to finish it?” ¹⁰ We also asked them their names, so that we could write down the names of their leaders for your information.

¹¹ This is the answer they gave us:

“We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago, one that a great king of Israel built and finished. ¹² But because our ancestors angered the God of heaven, he gave them into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar the Chaldean, king of Babylon, who destroyed this temple and deported the people to Babylon.

¹³ “However, in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, King Cyrus issued a decree to rebuild this house of God. ¹⁴ He even removed from the temple of Babylon the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to the temple in Babylon. Then King Cyrus gave them to a man named Sheshbazzar, whom he had appointed governor, ¹⁵ and he told him, ‘Take these articles and go and deposit them in the temple in Jerusalem. And rebuild the house of God on its site.’

¹⁶ “So this Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundations of the house of God in Jerusalem. From that day to the present it has been under construction but is not yet finished.”

¹⁷ Now if it pleases the king, let a search be made in the royal archives of Babylon to see if King Cyrus did in fact issue a decree to rebuild this house of God in Jerusalem. Then let the king send us his decision in this matter.

Notice how the Jewish workers framed their answers to glorify the Lord! They didn’t try to cover up the sins of the nation and they openly acknowledged that they were “the servants of the God of heaven and earth.” Both in their words and their demeanor, they presented a clear witness to this important Persian official. 

How will the king answer? Another cliffhanger!  Stay tuned, God’s story of rebuilding and restoration continues!

Lord,

Thank you for Your Word that not only teaches us with corrections in our thinking and behaving; your Holy Spirit also reminds us of your love and care and opens our eyes to see and know you more!  You are truth that is higher and greater than the momentary troubles of this world.  Use all the challenges I face to grow me to be more and more like you in all your ways.  I know you are not finished with me yet for I have not arrived at getting this completely right!  Thank you for not giving up on me!

In Jesus Name, Amen