7/22/15: Haters

There have been haters since Biblical days. Cyrus king of Persia was moved by God to allow the Israelite captives to go back to their land and rebuild the temple to honor God. The work started, but as the years passed and other kings arose, “…the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the descendants of the captivity were building the temple of the LORD God of Israel…” (Ezra 4:1, NKJ), and they got mad when they weren’t a part. They wrote scandalous letters to the new king and got the work stopped until the second year of the reign of Darius, a new king of Persia.

We read in Ezra chapters 5 and 6 about the work getting under way again and yet more haters arose sending another letter. This time the haters were thwarted by a good filing system. When Darius received the letter, he had some research done. The clerks went back into the files and found Cyrus’ original decree to rebuild the temple. Darius not only upheld that decree, but ordered the haters to supply the builders with whatever they needed – whatever would make them comfortable – to complete the work.

Proverbs 16:7 says, “When a man’s ways please the LORD, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him” (NKJ). Don’t sweat the haters. You just keep doing what God has told you to do. Your haters had better watch out! God can handle them. Before they know it, they just might be the ones supporting and financing the work God has called you to do.

Oh, and keep up with your paperwork. You never know when keeping your natural business straight will help in keeping your spiritual business running smoothly.

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