Don’t let fear stop you.

They set up the altar on its foundation and offered burnt offerings for the morning and evening on it to the Lord even though they feared the surrounding peoples. Ezra 3:3

Let me tell you a little bit about the tragic story surrounding this passage. Jerusalem was completely destroyed, along with a large percentage of its people. The Chaldeans burned the temple and took the Israelites that escaped the sword to Babylon. After seventy years passed, a Persian king named Cyrus was moved by God to decree the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem. I can only imagine how everything looked when they returned and how the task ahead of them seemed so daunting but they sought God despite their fear. When the temple was rebuilt they shouted so loudly that they were heard from a great distance. Continue to seek God even when the progress seems small and watch as God rebuilds the old ruins of your life!