In Ezra 5 and 6, when Darius becomes king of Persia, the prophets Haggai and Zechariah encourage the people to work on the temple. Once again, the adversaries of Judah try to stop the process. They are frightened by the God of heaven and believe if His house is built He will bring their ruin. The people of Judah say that King Cyrus made a decree to rebuild the temple. The adversaries send word to Darius and ask him to find proof of their claims.

Darius find Cyrus’ decree and tells the adversaries to allow the people of Jerusalem to build the temple. Additionally they are to provide funding for its building and animals for sacrifice. If they refuse the people of Judah have permission to attack them.

This decree stands even to Artaxerxes reign. The people finish the temple and dedicate it to God. They finish the temple in time for the Passover. All of the exiled people of Israel and Judah celebrate the Passover together. They thank God for moving the king’s heart.

God is clearly favoring His people again. They have paid the price for their disobedience and God is restoring His relationship with them. We are fortunate because Jesus paid the price for our disobedience. The line of communication with God is always open. If we think we are having trouble communicating with God we need to look at ourselves. God is always listening.

Psalm 77 is written in a time of trouble. The writer remembers times when God listened to his prayers. He wonders if God has forgotten him. He decides to remember when God has been faithful, particularly in delivering the people of Israel who were in captivity. The psalm ends in an awkward place, which would indicate that the next psalm is also part of this psalm.

When we struggle during times of trial in our lives it is helpful to remember times in our lives when God has been actively and obviously at work. We know that God is always there, even when we can’t see Him. Keep asking God to reveal Himself. He will.