THE GOOD HAND OF GOD

Summary

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Don't Miss This Study

Episode: "THE GOOD HAND OF GOD" (July 19, 2026)

Hosts: Emily Freeman & David Butler

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Emily Freeman and David Butler explore the powerful theme of rebuilding after hardship, focusing on the biblical books of Ezra and Nehemiah. They draw parallels between Israel’s return to Jerusalem and the temple after exile and the personal returns or rebuilds we experience in our own spiritual journeys. The episode offers encouragement, practical advice, and memorable insights into finding the “good hand of God” in the midst of challenge, discouragement, and change.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Stage: Context of Ezra & Nehemiah

[02:21–06:48]

• The timeline of Israel’s history is clarified: Northern tribes (Israel) were taken by Assyria; southern tribes (Judah and Benjamin) were taken by Babylon.
• Ezra and Nehemiah are "return stories"—after 70 years in Babylonian exile, the Jews are allowed by Persia’s King Cyrus to return and rebuild Jerusalem and, crucially, the temple.
• This period represents recurring biblical themes: loss, exile, and God’s faithfulness in restoration.

“This Ezra and Nehemiah story of coming back and rebuilding...is the human story. And so it's so awesome to study.” —Dave [08:18]

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2. The Universal Theme of Returning and Rebuilding

[06:50–10:26]

• Parallels are drawn between Israel’s return and moments in our own lives where we need to return to faith, rebuild after loss, or simply renew spiritual habits.
• The “stirring” of the spirit is introduced as a divine, mysterious urge to begin anew.

"You have no idea why that particular temple session or that particular sacrament meeting...just stirred up your heart. But it did." —Dave [11:34]

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3. Taking the First Step: Starting Small

[14:39–19:39]

• The people’s first act upon returning isn’t to immediately rebuild the temple, but to set up the altar and begin offerings—however small and imperfect.
• The critical lesson: Don’t wait for readiness or perfection; start with “morning and evening” remembrance and let it gradually grow.

"That smallest step got a little bigger, got a little bigger, got a little bigger…We do not need to do this all at once...What if the rebuild starts with something small?" —Grace [19:08]

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4. Celebrating Foundations, Not Comparing to the Past

[20:04–26:30]

• Even laying the temple’s foundation is cause for great celebration, despite older generations grieving it isn’t like Solomon’s temple.
• Hosts explore the tension between nostalgia (grieving the past) and embracing new beginnings, concluding that grief is evidence of love but must not overshadow present joy.

“Let the praise be louder than the disappointment.” —Dave [24:36]

“Grief is a giant neon sign protruding through everything...broadcasting loudly: Love was here. In the finer print, quietly: Love still is.” —Grace [26:30]

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5. Expecting Opposition: Discouragement, Fear, and Frustration

[29:47–39:51]

• Resistance comes, both within and without. The Samaritans try to stop rebuilding; metaphorically, so does the Adversary in spiritual progress.
• Advise listeners to actively identify what is discouraging, frightening, or frustrating them, seeing opposition as evidence of doing good—not as a sign to give up.

“Sometimes those, when they show up, can be read as a sign that I'm doing the wrong thing. But...scripturally, they are signs that you're doing the right thing.” —Dave [34:57]

• Memorable Story: Nehemiah refuses to be distracted by opposition, stating: “I am doing a great work so that I cannot come down.” (Nehemiah 6:3) [36:38–38:33]

“You should write it on a sticky note...I am doing a great work and it is worth it.” —Grace [36:33]

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6. A New Decree: Redefining Identity

[39:51–46:44]

• Even as enemies try to define the Jews by their past (“they were rebellious”), the new king’s decree redefines them.
• The hosts powerfully relate this to how we must allow God’s redemption—and others’—to take place immediately, not clinging to old narratives of shame or failure.

"If God has declared it, he has declared it right. I'm so captured every time by the last words Jesus speaks on the cross...that's the new decree." —Dave [46:01]

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7. The Role of Prophets: Encouragement, Not Just Prediction

[46:44–49:09]

• Prophets—represented by Haggai and Zechariah—are with the people, helping and encouraging, not aloof or detached.
• Modern application: Prophets and church leaders are with us in our challenges.

"What if when we talked about the prophets...we realized and said...with them were the prophets of God helping them?" —Grace [47:43]

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8. The Repeated Theme: “The Good Hand of God”

[51:24–53:56]

• The phrase “the good hand of God was upon them” recurs throughout Ezra and Nehemiah, underscoring that any success in rebuilding—despite obstacles—is ultimately due to divine grace.
• Personal application: Look for and record evidence of God’s hand in your life; it magnifies resilience and gratitude.

“There's nothing that has built me up more in my seasons of building...than looking for the hand of God.” —Grace [53:01]

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9. Rebuilding = Remembering

[55:07–68:31]

• Nehemiah 8: Ezra publicly reads the law, stirring emotional and spiritual responses.
• The reaction of the people is authentic: tears, then joy. Ezra encourages them not to dwell in shame, but in the “joy of the Lord” (Nehemiah 8:10), which gives strength.
• The importance of practical and emotional engagement in building faith is highlighted: gathering, listening, responding, acting.

“The joy of the Lord is your strength. ...That is the brand of faith I aspire to.” —Dave [63:36]

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10. Writing Your Own Chapter With God

[68:31–73:01]

• Nehemiah 9 contains a beautiful national prayer recounting Israel’s history—failures and all—and God’s continued deliverance.
• The hosts encourage listeners to write their own prayer or list of moments when God has shown up for them as a personal act of remembrance and covenant renewal.

“Sit down and write your own [history with God]...Where has God showed up for you? And what makes you want to have a relationship with him?” —Grace [71:16]

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11. Closing Reflections: The Invitation of Rebuilding

[73:01–68:31]

• Rebuilding is not just about restored structures, but restored hearts, renewed faith, and deeper joy.
• The hosts tie it all together: the “call of heaven” is ever an invitation not just to duty, but to joy and thriving—starting wherever you are, with what you can do, and trusting in the “good hand of God.”

“Heaven calls, and this is what He's like. ...When we remember who is asking, we're compelled to respond. ...The old chapter doesn't define us anymore...That's the good news, that's the joy, and that is the strength.” —Dave [73:01]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “All building stories or rebuilding stories start as a gift from God. A fire that's put in us.” —Dave [12:43]
• “Let the praise be louder than the disappointment.” —Dave [24:36]
• “Grief is evidence of love—so turn that grief back to love. Let your soul expect love again.” —Grace [26:30]
• “I am doing a great work so that I cannot come down.” —Grace (quoting Nehemiah) [36:33]
• “Discouragement, fear, and frustration...I would dare say those are the three things [the adversary] uses more frequently than anything else.” —Grace [34:57]
• “Sin is finished, death is finished, shame is finished. The devil's not allowed to speak discouragement, fear or frustration into your story anymore.” —Dave [46:01]
• “There's nothing that’s built me up more...than recognizing the hand of God in my life.” —Grace [53:01]
• "The joy of the Lord is your strength." —Ezra/Nehemiah [63:36]
• “When you sit down and you experience what this gospel has to offer you, it will be the best experience of your life.” —Grace [65:38]
• “Because of all this, we choose to do life with you.” —Dave [70:38]
• “We like get excited about bottomless fries at Red Robin...are you kidding me right now with bottomless compassion?” —Grace [71:16]

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• 02:21 – Context of Ezra & Nehemiah
• 06:48 – The Stirring to Return/Rebuild
• 14:39 – Taking First Steps (altar before temple)
• 20:04 – Laying the Foundation, Handling Disappointment
• 29:47 – Expecting and Facing Opposition
• 36:38 – Nehemiah: “I Am Doing a Great Work”
• 39:51 – Reframing Identity (the king’s new decree)
• 46:44 – Prophets as Helpers and Encouragers
• 51:24 – The Good Hand of God (Recurring Phrase)
• 55:07 – The Power of Remembering & Renewal (Nehemiah 8)
• 68:31 – The National Prayer; Writing Your Own Testimony
• 73:01 – Summing Up: Responding to Heaven’s Call to Rebuild

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Engaging, Practical Applications

• Start Small: Rebuild with manageable steps (morning/evening “offerings”).
• Notice Opposition: Expect discouragement, fear, and frustration—don’t misinterpret them as failure.
• Claim Your New Story: Accept (with speed!) God’s declaration of your identity.
• Look for the Good Hand of God: Actively seek out and record where God is aiding and sustaining you.
• Rejoice and Invite: Celebrate every bit of progress and draw others in.
• Write Your Own Prayer of Remembrance: As in Nehemiah 9, list your history with God.

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This episode blends scriptural insights, relatable stories, humor, and profound encouragement to help listeners face times of rebuilding—reminding all that the good hand of God is always present, guiding, strengthening, and inviting us into joy.

Transcript

[A]

Hi, there. Welcome to Don't Miss this, a scripture study podcast with Dave Butler and Grace Freeman.

[B]

Each week, we point out things in the scriptures that we love and think you don't want to miss.

[A]

Thanks for listening. Hi, everyone. I'm Dave Butler.

[B]

And I'm Grace Freeman Smith.

[A]

Okay. Hey, welcome to Don't Miss this, y'.

[B]

All.

[A]

If you're wondering why Grace is just barely giving her new married name in July 27, no worries. We have to be a little ahead. We're a little ahead in recording. Not much, but we are a little ahead because we're in June and Grace is moving to end of May. It's practically June. It's moving to New New York. The concrete jungle.

[B]

The concrete jungle.

[A]

And so we have to. We have to change our recording schedule a little bit. Don't worry. Grace's decision to move to New York is not firing her.

[B]

Don't worry. Don't worry.

[A]

They're keeping me around airplanes.

[B]

My commute got way longer. I'll be fine.

[A]

So we're a little ahead in recording, but we're still l the summer right now, which is great. We're in summer mode. You're in summer mode. I forgot we switched to this table, you know, a couple of episodes ago or remember we've been. We had to be ahead.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Because of getting ready for New York and your wedding. My aunt Sunday dinner was like, oh, you are. You're at that new table now. And I was like, don't you love it?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I was like, our little tables made us feel like we were T. Rexes. Yeah.

[B]

We couldn't do anything.

[A]

Look at all the things that I've laid out now. Plus, dugging thing is great. Every look you're at our table, it's like you're at our. Yeah, it's great. It's fantastic. So, you guys, if. Today we're Ezra and Nehemiah, we're so excited. We go through. We follow the come follow me schedule, and we go through just. Just different spots of the Bible and point out things that. That we love that we think you don't want to miss. We hope that the scriptures are encouraging and they help you fall in love with the main character of the story, who's God, and. And the. The Old Testament's surprising. It just surprises you how good it is and has a reputation for giving God a bad rap. But I think we're finding that we are just discovering beautiful things about the heart of God every single week. So we're so happy that you're here. And should we jump in Ezra and Nehemiah?

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Okay, let's get smart first, okay? If you look at your table of contents or your timeline, either, it's going to be fine. All right, look, I'm holding up this little timeline that is not filled out just because the big one is so hard to hold up. But if you look at your table of contents, you start in Genesis and we follow the story, right? And we follow all the way to Joshua when the children, you know, when the children of Israel came into the promised land. Then we had Samuel, Samuel, Kings and Kings. And that was the spot where we had David and we had. Or Saul and we had David and we had Solomon who built the temple, you remember, in Jerusalem. Then we have a split of the kingdom between 10 tribes up north called Israel, two tribes down south called Judah. And they kind of ran parallel with each other. They were neighbors, but did not act like family. And then a couple lessons ago was that last lesson, the 10 tribes up north were taken away by Assyria and they're lost to history, scattered. And then the two tribes down south were conquered by Babylon. Now what's interesting is that happens at the end of 2 Chronicles. Remember, kings and Chronicles are the same storyline, but just through two different perspectives. Okay, so Kings and Chronicles, we ended up. And they were taken off like the cliffhanger last week. They were taken off into bondage. We're going to talk about those bondage stories, what happened during the 70 years while they were in bondage, but not yet, because the next chapters, which are Ezra and Nehemiah, are the return stories. So we have, we're kind of skipping the middle part and we're going to come back to it because this is just the order that the Bible's in, that this is the return. So we have to pretend that they've been in bondage for 70 years. And in a couple lessons from now, we're going to do a flashback to the, to the bondage years. But for now we're, we're doing the stories of the return. Okay, so that's why your, your timeline piece is this U turn arrow. Cuz it's a return. Okay. And notice that it goes in the July. Notice that you have October and November and August are some of the dates where we're going to talk about the middle. But July, which is right now, is the return. Okay, so they're going to return back to the promised land. Who's returning? Only the two tribes down south. Okay, so Judah and Benjamin, southern kingdom got taken away by Babylon. Babylon gets conquered by a nation called Persia. And then Persia is going to allow the Jewish people, the tribe of Judah and Benjamin, to go back to Jerusalem, which is why. Whoops, you're putting. You're gonna put the second piece up, which is the city of Jerusalem picture. Because they're gonna. That's what they're gonna rebuild. They're gonna rebuild the city of Jerusalem.

[B]

So cute.

[A]

Okay, are we done? Are we smart?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Why is that the cutest little city

[A]

ever on this picture? Yes. That's great. So good.

[B]

Cut out. It's the cutest little picture you ever saw of a city.

[A]

Yeah. So great. Okay, then if you want help with this, put this tip in. And you have this tip in. It goes in Ezra 1, and it's called the Persia Years. All right? And it's going to talk about this because. And you're going to see on here, this. Well, let's open up. Open up to Ezra, chapter one. And look how it starts. Ezra 1:1. And it starts like this. Now, in the first year of Cyrus, King of Persia, the word of the Lord might be fulfilled by the mouth of Jeremiah. I. I mixed up words as I read that, everyone. But it was the same meaning. Okay? The Lord stirred up the spirit of King Cyrus of Persia that he made a proclamation throughout all the kingdom and put it in writing, saying essentially, verse two, they're allowed to go back and they're allowed to rebuild their temple, because remember, it got knocked down when Babylon came in. And Babylon stole all the treasures out of the temple and knocked it down. And he says they, by decree of this new king, they're allowed to go back. But don't you love that it says the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah. Oh, look, here's Christian trying to call right now to talk to everyone. We're recording on a Monday. Don't worry, everyone. I'll talk to him after we're done. Okay. Wow. What were we saying? Sorry, Christian.

[B]

We couldn't wait for Christian to tell you.

[A]

Okay, the Jeremiah, the prophet. Oh, yeah. Who we're going to get to, who is Jeremiah? Isaiah both prophesied one day. They prophesied and said, you're going to go into bondage, but one day you're going to come back. The Lord is going to stir up the heart of a future king and he's gonna let you come back, which I actually, really, really like. This returning part of the Bible, I think is awesome. This rebuilding after an exile. This is a theme all throughout the scripture. It's what we saw in Judges, right, where it's like my own bad mistakes, I kick God out of my life. I suffered the consequences and realized, holy moly, I actually want God back in my life. And so I'm going to come back. It's actually the theme of the entire Bible, by the way. Adam and Eve are kicked out of the Garden of Eden because of the decision that they make. And, and the whole story has, the whole story is how do we get back? And the New Testament comes into play, right. That Jesus will be the means by which they can come back into Eden. It's like the, it's the, it's the story of the ancient tabernacle and modern day temples of a fall and then a redemption, right? And so this Ezra and Nehemiah story of coming back and rebuilding, that promise being fulfilled after an exile is just, it's the human story. And so it's so awesome to study. And we were talking before we started that I think a fantastic way to talk about this is this is a returning story, this is a rebuilding story. And I think there are going to be so many times in our lives where we step away from faith or we become a little bit nonchalant about faith or something happens that troubles our faith, that shakes our faith. And we all will have returning moments. We'll all have rebuilding moments where we decide, wait a second, I want to be a believer again. My faith is now more important to me than it was a year ago. And I love, we want to look at these books as encouragement and advice for those rebuilding times.

[B]

And so I just was talking to someone about this and randomly we were like kind of on a weekend getaway and there's a ton of people there. And she just came up to me and she was kind of telling me everything that was going on in her life. And she just, I remember she asked me, she's like, well, where do I even start? Like, where do I even begin? What do I start doing to get back to where I know I want to be? And if you've ever wondered that, this is the place to go.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Is it's sometimes overwhelming to be like, okay, well what do I do now? Because, like, I know I want to. The desire's there, but how do you really go about it? And it feels like that is the question this answers. Where do I start?

[A]

Yeah. And even if it's not a rebuild, if it's a build for the first time, you're just like, do you know what? I want to live with more intentional faith than these also are for you. Just like I would like to build my faith, I like to take this to another level or whatever. And what's interesting about your friend is there's a couple verses in the beginning. 1. One is one of them, Ezra 1:1, this line, that the Lord stirred up the spirit of King Cyrus. Look also at verse five. And he says, then rose up the chief of the fathers of Judah and Benjamin and the priests and Levites, with all them whose spirit God had raised to.

[B]

And.

[A]

And build this. And then. Can I show you one more? Just to add to this little theme of something you're going to see throughout these chapters, skip ahead to Ezra, chapter 7, verse 27. This is one of the best verses in the entire thing, and it says this. Blessed be the Lord, God of our fathers, which hath put such a thing as this in the King's heart to beautify the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem. And I would say that this is a description of that friend that you were talking to that I. I don't know why it happens. I don't know why I'm. I really like when Jesus says to Nicodemus, the Holy Spirit is like the wind. You have no idea where it's coming from. You have no idea why it decided to show up on this particular Tuesday afternoon. You have no idea why that particular temple session or that particular sacrament meeting or that walk with a friend just stirred up your heart. But it did stirred you up. And we just have moments like that, right, where faith has just been sort of maybe bland for a minute or flatline. Sounds dramatic, but, you know, whatever we want to say there and then, all of a sudden, something just stirs up in you, and you're just like, oh, my, I love it. And the Lord puts such a thing as this into your heart to beautify your faith and your life again. So I love that it just begins as an act of God, right, to build our faith. Faith, first and foremost, initially, I think is a gift from God. He puts something in us, stirs us up for something, for something better. And if someone were to ask your friend or you or me, like, where'd you get that idea to like. I think that's everything. Like a missionary. You're sort of. You could ask a missionary, like, that's crazy. You gave up 18 months, you gave up two years to do that. Why? You know, I don't know. Something stirred up in me that I just felt, why? Why'd you do that great act of charity?

[B]

Where.

[A]

Where. Where that Great act. Where'd that great courage come from? I don't know. Something stirred up in me. Right. I felt like I needed to pursue this idea. I needed to pursue this. This prompting to. To do it. And I think all building stories or rebuilding stories start as a gift from God. A. A fire that's put in us.

[B]

So true. And it's so interesting because I feel like in those moments that, like, I can think of so many times, like, I hear something or I go on, like, a trip or like I am part of this moment or even, like, sometimes just like, sitting in a church pew, that I feel my soul being stirred. And then it's the days after that that are so interesting to me because even in that moment, like, it could be that very day, then I go back home, and then it's like, okay, well, I know I want to. This is where the desire begins. So what am I really gonna do? And how's that really gonna look? And I'm still gonna have to overcome all the obstacles that held me back before. So now what's really going to happen? How does the rebuilding start? How do I go on?

[A]

And it's interesting because don't you feel like you kind of have to seize that moment when it happens?

[B]

Yes. Yes.

[A]

Because, like, you could be. I don't know. There's been so many times, and it's usually by the way, when I'm out of my normal. Right. I've often thought of. I love to travel, obviously. I love meaningful travel. And one of the reasons I love it is it takes me out of my normal to this spot where I'm just like, okay, now I have a different kind of perspective. My heart was poised to be stirred up because you took me out of my regular rhythm for a minute, and I thought differently about life and about faith and relationship. And it stirred up. But then it's so easy to come back, and you're just like, now your alarm goes off at the same time. It used to.

[B]

Yeah. Ever gone on any church trip? That is like the girl that cried at testimony meeting on at girls camp.

[A]

I want my life to be different.

[B]

Yes. Or like, you go to FSY for five days and you come back.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And.

[A]

And I should say, like, I don't mean to say that. Like, I said that in a tone where it was like. Because I do believe that was a gift from God. I do believe he was stirring up a heart. There was an act of heaven that happened in that moment. I'm not trying. I'm not dismissing it so but how

[B]

do you keep it with you? That's the question is how do you not let that be a fleeting moment? How do you build on it? And how they began is so interesting to me. We're gonna go to Ezra, chapter three. We're gonna be kind of all over the place. So we're gonna tell you where we are always because we're kind of gonna bounce through all the sections of today. We're gonna.

[A]

And should I say this about this tipin? Yeah, about the rebuild. So this tip in the timeline will help you if you don't have the tip in. Let me just tell you. Just like the. What do you call that? The, the exile. The exile started in waves, right? All didn't happen at once. Babylon came in and then it came in again and then finally they came in a third time and destroyed it. When the rebuild starts, it also rebuilds in waves. So this is in the front of your journal and on the tip end, the first group's gonna go back and rebuild the T. Temple. Then the second group's going to go back and kind of rebuild the, the covenant relationship, right? And the spiritual habits. And then the third group, Nehemiah, is going to go back in and rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. So they're all rebuilding stories. But that's why we're going to jump around because they, they, they go back in phases. Rebuild the temple first, then the kind of faith of the people, the, the religion structure of the people, and then the walls third. Zerubbabel, Ezra, Nehemiah, if you want the order. Okay, sorry, go ahead.

[B]

Okay, now you guys.

[A]

So we're jumping around.

[B]

So we're jumping around. We're going to be in Ezra 3, we're going to start in verse 3. And this is one of the very first things that happens is they set up the altar, they get told they can go back and rebuild the temple. They're so excited, they go. And I'm actually, I just lied to you. I'm not even going to start in verse three. I'm going to tell you what happens at the end. What's so interesting is everything that we're about to talk to all happens before the foundation of the temple, like, was even laid. Like, it's like, this isn't before the temple's finished. This is before it even is started. Like, this is day one, step one, before anything else. What they do is they set up the altars and they go and they get all these altars ready for bases. And what's so interesting to me is what happens and the change that happens within four verses start in verse number three. And the people are still a little bit afraid. And we could see the word fear. And yeah, maybe there's fear that's stopping us from rebuilding. I think that's obviously true. But I think exactly what David just taught about, like you go on these trips or you have this experience, or you have this moment that you're like, oh no, like I wanna rebuild and I wanna get closer to God. And this is exactly what I've been waiting for. And then there really is the chance to do it. And maybe it's not fear that gets in the way, but there are things that get in the way that make us say, like, wait, wait, I' might not have been as ready for that as I thought I was in the moment when I was in the middle of FSY and like I was feeling that I was ready in that moment. I might not be as ready for that as I realized now that my life is back to what it like is on a day to day basis. And maybe it's fear, maybe for me, I'll give it to you straight, it's laziness, okay, Maybe it's pride, maybe it's grief, maybe it's anxiety, maybe it's depression, maybe it's mental health. Maybe is just like not being capable of it. There's too much to do, where do I even start?

[A]

Or a commitment, like a commitment feels scary to just.

[B]

It's like, I can't jump in.

[A]

I can't jump in 100% right?

[B]

This is the. I'm not ready for 100% right now. Like, I don't know what to do. Because what happens is they start offering burnt offerings and they offer them in the morning and the evening, which seems like a lot. You're like, oh wow. Like they're doing it. Like they're fully going. But then as you read, you realize that that's not really true. Because what happens is afterwards they celebrate the feast and then after that they start continual burnt offerings. Both of the new moons and all the set of feasts of the Lord that were consecrated and everyone willing, offered at free will, offering unto the Lord. They start doing this all of the time. I love that word, continual burnt offerings. And at the beginning, the they just simply weren't ready for that. They were still scared something was still holding them back. That already in verse number three, I love that was not said in a scolding way. That wasn't disappointed. That wasn't like, why didn't you do more. From the very beginning, that was saying you chose a really good place to start. Start there and watch how within two verses, it increases into something more. And I think that in those moments, moments that we get that. What did you call it? Your heart is stirred and you know there's something that you want. What can you start with that won't overwhelm you? Where can you begin that isn't too much that you can build on and build on and build on and build on? That rebuild does not happen overnight. This, remember, was all happening before the foundation was even set. This was the smallest step ever. And that smallest step got a little bigger. Got a little bigger, got a little bigger, got a little bigger. We do not need to do this all at once. Overwhelmingly. What if the rebuild starts with something small that you can do to remember God in the morning and in the evening.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And go from there.

[A]

I love it. I love that idea. And I just think it's so cool that verse six, the King James says, but the foundation of the temple of the Lord was not yet laid. My favorite version, remember the NLT says, this was even before they had started to lay the foundation of the Lord's temple. And I just like that emphasis on, listen, all this happened before they ever laid the foundation of the temple.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And in our theology, temple feels like. I think the temple's a little bit more simple than we may make it. But the temple feels like this super committed moment.

[B]

Right.

[A]

For a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

[B]

And.

[A]

And what I love is it's just like, hold on, hold on. You don't have to commit to the temple yet. Just morning and evening. How about that's gonna be true. Just begin with that. Now in that same chapter. This next thing is interesting. If you keep reading, they keep continuing it. I keep coming back to this thought in my head of the spark has been lit in you, and you're doing something that just fans the flames of your faith, you know? And you just keep doing it. Keep doing it right is what they're doing. And then you get to. They start to actually build the temple. Right. They build. They lay that foundation and they start going. And it says this in start in verse 10. When the builders completed the foundation of the Lord's temple, the priests put on their robes and they took their places to blow their trumpets. And the Levites clashed their cymbals to praise the Lord, just as King David had prescribed. With praise and thanks, they sang this song to the Lord. He is so good. He is faithful. Excuse me. His faithful love for Israel endures forever. Then all the people gave a great shout praising the Lord because the foundation of the Lord's temple had been laid. Keep in mind, we're still talking super simple here, right? We're talking just the foundation has been laid here, right? And then verse 12 says, but says this, but many of the older priests, Levites and other leaders who had seen the first temple, meaning Solomons, they remembered it, they were little when they saw it, when they saw this new one. It says they wept aloud when they saw the new foundation because it was disappointing to them. This wasn't like how it used to be. Is, is. Is what they were seeing and sad about. And I think it's worth acknowledging that when somebody starts to rebuild their faith, they might look at their old life or something and say, oh man, this just isn't what it, what it once was or what it could be. And maybe even as an observer of someone else who's rebuilding their faith, we could be tempted to look at it and say, like, I know, but I wish they were fully committed. I wish they were fully in. And there's a temptation to be disappointed about our progress. And I just have, you know, written in here, let the praise be louder than the disappointment. I think that disappointment is natural in ourselves and maybe when we observe it in other people. But don't you think it's so cool in verse 10 when they blow the trumpets and, and crash the cymbals and sing and praise because they have a foundation? You know, like, who comes, Nobody comes to see a foundation. You know, it's sort of like, wah, wah, right? It's not that, but I love that they are so happy about we laid a foundation. Like it's just this small thing and they are finding great pride and joy. And like I, I'm doing it, I'm doing it. I did something. And I think there's something about that, that although part of our building or rebuilding will include both disappointment and joy, let that joy be bigger. Let's celebrate the wins here. I mean, I think about, and maybe this is weird to say, but you know, what about a missionary who commits to go out for 24 months or 18 months and, and they do one month of service and then come home. And they might be really, really disappointed in themselves. Others might be initially be disappointed in them. But wait, what about the fact that they just gave 30 days of their life to service? Right? Why will I praise like the young men and young women in my ward for cleaning up the road for an hour, you know, for a service project. And what about someone who moved away for 30 days to do that? I mean, growing up, I had friends who went on mission trips and they lasted 10 days. They went and built a house somewhere or something, and it was like this great celebration. Yeah, it was like, that was so awesome that you did that. And I get that there's a temptation to be disappointed because you're like, that's not what I thought, thought it was going to be. I thought I was going to be able to do longer than this. But don't let. Let the praise be louder than that. Way to go. Way to try it. Wait, wait. A way to do two months, three months, three weeks. Like, that's great. Good for you. You know, and I, I just, I feel like we set in our minds this expectation of the way our faith should be by now or the spot I should be at this point or compare myself to how somebody else's faith is. And, and, and I say, I, I love that they're like, they blow the trumpets for the foundation, right? Let's celebrate what actually did happen instead of comparing it to what we thought should have happened by now.

[B]

And I think these verses were, out of everything I read, probably hit the, like hit home the most for me. And I read them over and over and over. And I think it's because I, to my core, am the most nostalgic person that has ever existed in the history of the world. And my soul loves the line, oh, but this isn't as good as it used to be. And life isn't as good as it used to be. And it was so good. I look back with the rosiest colored of glasses that you could ever possibly imagine. It is my. Like, if you were to ask me about my mission, like, I. I didn't have even one bad day. It was perfect. There was not one problem, which maybe

[A]

you're gonna say is good. I think it's a good trait, right. In some ways to, like, there's ups

[B]

and downs, there's pros and cons.

[A]

Sure, sure. To look back and notice all the good things.

[B]

But then in this moment, I know who I am in the story. I'm the one that looks and says, oh, yeah, but you didn't know how good it was. You're cheering, but you don't know how good it was. And I read this quote a long time ago, and it's one of my favorites of all time. And it says, as long as there is love, there will be grief. The Grief of time passing, of life moving on, half finished, of empty spaces that were once bursting with the laughter and the energy of people we loved. As long as there is love, there will be grief. Because grief is love's natural continuation. It shows up in aisles of stores we once frequented in the smell of a perfume or a cologne we get two years after they've been gone. Grief is a giant neon sign protruding through everything, pointing everywhere, broadcasting loudly. Love was here in the finer print, quietly, love still is. And when I read this, I thought of that quote instantly. Because I realized that being sad about the past is not a bad thing. But if it alters the way you see the future, maybe there's a way you could change, like, your perspective in that moment. And I think that's something that I have to remind myself of all the time. That in the moments that we're tempted to cry and say, wait, but it was so good. Like, I just think there's something so beautiful in saying, like, grief is evidence of love. So turn that grief back to love and let, like, your soul expect love again. Like, let that be. Like, let both of those coincide. So when you see it and you're like, wait, I do have the temptation to say, like, oh, it's not as good as it used to be. Let that be a reason to worship. How beautiful that you had something that is making you so sad. How beautiful that you experience something in life that, like, you got to experience love like, that you experience something so beautiful like you miss it. Let that be a moment of love. And then allow your heart to say, I can still love again. I can still love more.

[A]

That's awesome. So good.

[B]

Oh, I forgot that it's going to be me. Okay, my bad, everyone. I was just thinking about those people crying and singing. It's because I love to cry and sing. So that is it for me.

[A]

It's the truth. And in itself, in its maybe most simple form, as we talk about building something or rebuilding something, it does include both. Yeah, right. Which we're about to see in a second.

[B]

Yeah, well, even like moving to New York. This is right now, when you're listening, I already live in New York. But when we're recording, I leave on Saturday, one way flight. And the other night, this is gonna be so, like, sad. But it's okay, everyone. Fine. But the other night I was just laid in bed with Trenton and I just started crying so hard. And he said, oh my gosh, are you crying? I said, yeah, it's okay. And he said, did I do Something wrong? He said, I'm so sorry. What's happening? And I just was like, I'm just so sad to leave. Like, I'm so sad to move. And he was, like, doing everything he possibly could to, like, comfort me. And he was like, like, it's gonna be okay. Like, I'm gonna help you make friends. Like, he was trying to be so nice about it. And I was truly having a mental breakdown. I was just sobbing. And finally I said, actually, I think that it's a okay for me to be sad and still know that New York's gonna be good. And that doesn't mean that it's the wrong choice that I'm sad. And it doesn't mean that it's not, like, gonna change our lives. And it's gonna be so good. And then we'll meet so many friends. But I think that sometimes it's just true that there's gonna be tears and there's gonna be singing, and those happen within four verses.

[A]

Yeah, for sure.

[B]

That's just true about life sometimes. And what happens next is you'll notice that as they try to build, it just isn't all smooth sailing. Exactly like that. Exactly like the tears and the singing is that people find out and they kind of want to start causing problems. And I think in the growth of a soul, this is not just maybe going to happen. This is doctrinally true. You should expect this. There should be no doubt in your mind that after your soul has been stirred and you are working on growth and building and you are getting closer to God, you should expect enemies to show up. That's just inherently true about what's gonna happen. And that is what happens. The Samaritans come, they offer to help, and they're like, no, no, no. Like, we know our job. We know our role. We know what we're going to do. And then all of a sudden, they start looking. And it starts in, like, verse five, I think.

[A]

So 4ish.

[B]

4ish.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Oh, yeah. Okay.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

4.

[A]

4. Ezra. 4.

[B]

4 and Ezra. 4, 4. And it says, then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah and troubled them in building. And hired. This part is so crazy. And hired counselors against them to frustrate their purpose. All the days of Him. Whatever. I'm not doing that whole. The rest of the verse, you can read it. Okay. It tells you when it's gonna happen. All the days just do a period after that. Listen, it's just a lot, David. I'm just not a great Reader, that's too much for me. But what I do wanna say is that in your moments of grief growth you should expect this from the enemy. You should expect that he will send people to weaken your hands. That to me like I like if you. You don't want me to go on this rant right now, but I could. I'm so interested that. There were people sent to make them weak. There were people there to send. There were people what? There were there. There were people sent to make them weak.

[A]

More peepers.

[B]

Just what's. We don't know who came. You got all worked up about trying to say verse five out loud now, Mets. There were people sent to make them weak. There were people sent who were there to trouble them. And there are people sent to frustrate their purpose.

[A]

And this I was looking at that same verse in the nlt and the words are. One of them is the same. But to discourage, to frighten and to frustrate, right? So whatever synonyms you use and you

[B]

can expect all three, all six, I will say this. I'm not the wisest person in the room, but this is how I read my scriptures. And this is kind of like what I do in seminary is like. I think the coolest lesson for you and your personal study for me, for anyone is to sit down and think to yourself, what am I trying to build right now? Maybe you are trying to build a marriage. Maybe you're trying to build up your family. Maybe you're trying to build a testimony. Maybe you are trying to build up the. The girls that you are a young woman's leader over. Maybe you are trying to build up a company. Maybe you are trying to build up your sweet teenage daughter's heart who's just getting wrecked every day she shows up to school cause of her friends. I don't know what it is. That was a really specific example. But you know what I'm trying to say. Everyone is building something. The first thing to think about is what are you building right now? What are you dedicating your time to try and build? And then I would use those three words. It's discourage, frighten, frighten and frustrate. And I would make a list of all of the things that are happening in your life that are there discouraging you, frightening you or frustrating you. Make a list, write them actually down and you will get a clue into the areas that Satan is trying to hurt you. That is the clearest example for me. Sometimes it just works for me that I need to realize where he is Attacking me to be able to come out stronger than him. I can't do it. If I'm just hoping for the best and like closing my eyes and just like running as fast as I can through life, I will fall apart. I'm a mess. I'm a disaster. I'm not going to make it through even 20 minutes of my day. I need to realize what's in my life is frightening me right now. And why. And why does it scare me so much? So much? And what in my life is frustrating me and why does it frustrate me? And are there things that I could do to alleviate my soul from being frustrated every day with those things? What in my life is discouraging me? If every time I get on TikTok, I'm discouraged, that's a really easy solution for me, that I should delete it. If every single time I open the news, I feel so sad about the world I live in. I should delete the news. If every single time I go to the grocery store, I'm so frustrated because everyone's taking so long in the lines. I should actually probably just not go to self checkout. I should just go to a different cashier. That's going to solve my problem. Okay, I can fix that.

[A]

I bet you're about to put a plug in for Walmart delivery.

[B]

Okay. Or Walmart plus. Okay. This is a sponsored podcast. Just kidding. I can't afford that. Here's the deal. I just think that sometimes you need to, like, it's important to realize when you are building something beautiful, Satan is going to try to tear you down. And I would dare say that those are the three things he uses more frequently than anything else. Discouragement, fear, and frustration.

[A]

Yeah. And. And you know what? Sometimes those, when they show up, can be read as a sign that I'm doing the wrong thing. Right. But, but actually, in reality, scripturally, they are signs that you're doing the right thing. When, when those.

[B]

That has always been true about scripture, you can look at Joseph Smith. You can look at, you can look at 8 million people. Yeah, I'm not going to name them. You say that.

[A]

Well, yeah. And even, even like I just think about Jesus who walks into Gethsemane and feels discouragement and he feels fear and frustration as he goes in and his heart is heavy. And we would never look at that moment in time and say, well, that's because what you're about to do is wrong. But on the contrary, what you're about to do is so right and so good. You would expect the enemy of your soul to show up to try and prevent it from happening.

[B]

And what I love is later on in these chapters, there is a boy who does exactly that, that he knows someone is showing up to try to frustrate him, to try to make him afraid, to try to discourage him. And his response is so beautiful. And if you are in a moment that you can feel that discouragement or fear or frustration is trying to tear down what you are building. This story was written for, for you. And it's in Nehemiah, chapter six. And what happens is that Nehemiah is building and he is working so hard, okay? And he is dedicating his whole entire life to this. And another leader, what's his name again?

[A]

Sanballat.

[B]

San Balat. Okay, he's gonna go up.

[A]

Let's not make Sandlot the bad guy.

[B]

No, that's true. And that was a mistake. Sambalot. Sambalot. We could just say the whole name. He goes up to try to get him away from building, to try to stop him from the work that he's doing. And he goes and he says, come down. Come on, let's meet together. Let's meet together. And his response is so good, first of all, he does not even respond to him. He sends messengers. He's like this. You don't even get the time of day from me. I'm not even going to give you the satisfaction to know that I stopped what I was doing to talk to you. I sent messengers into them saying, I am doing a great work so that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and come down to you that you should hang on your mirror, you should put it in your car, you should write it on a sticky note and take it with you every single place that you go. And in those moments, how beautiful to say, I am doing a great work and it is worth it. I am doing a great work, and it is worth avoiding and stopping and deleting and, like, not doing all of the things that are trying to take you away and distract you. And I just think so much of the mom who is trying to build up her daughter. And there are going to be things that frustrate you, and there are gonna be things that discourage you, and there are things that you are afraid of if you are that mom. And I know without a doubt in my mind, when that mom looks at that daughter, she says the same thing, I am doing a great work. I can't stop. I will do anything to help this girl be built Up. And I see that in people who are building a marriage that say, you know what? Nothing else is worth it because this is worth my time. I am doing a great work. Nothing else can stop me. And that, to me, gives me the courage to say, I am willing to do whatever it possibly takes to eliminate all the distractions, all the temptations, all the discouragement, all time, the fear, all the frustration to keep doing the great work. And I love so much that it happens four times. They send unto him four times, telling him to stop, stop it, stop it, stop it. And we know the stories of like, okay, after one, like, no, like, I got it. But after three, like, I'm gonna go down. I'm like, give him the time of day. But no, he never does. And I love that it says this. And I answered them after the same manner. And what happens because of it is verse nine. It's so good. For they all made us afraid, saying, their hands shall be weakened from the work that it not be done. Now, therefore, this is the prayer. Oh, God, strengthen my hands. And if you are finding a way, like, I think it's. This is like, the craziest comparison to me that it says in Where Was I, Ezra. Oh, three, four, Ezra, four, Ezra, four, four and five. It says that they hired people to, like, weaken their hands. That was their goal of the people who were showing up is they wanted to weaken their hands. And I love that Nehemiah answers that same prayer simply by just praying, strengthen my hands. Then, God, if there are gonna be people who are trying to slow me down, strengthen my hands. If there are people trying to frustrate me, take it away, build up my confidence, build up my patience. And I love that response is, I'm not gonna fall to you, but I'm gonna need God to help me conquer this.

[A]

Yeah. And I think it's worth noting that fear and discouragement and frustration are really loud emotions. Like, they're. They could be dominating. They can spiral out of control, right? And we have to set our hearts on something that's louder than that, that's bigger than that. Like, I. I remember giving, getting advice one time where it's like, in. In times of temptation, you. You need something that can capture your heart. Like, you know what I mean? Like, something that can actually win you over something bigger, something better. And the same would be true of this. Like, fear can capture a heart. It can. It can hijack a heart. Right? Frustration can do that. We need something that has more power than that. And when you started talking about you Know, the mom raising that girl, you know, I just think about my own girls for a second. You know, I'm not a mom, but like, I look at them and I think, wait, I'm so endeared to you. I'm so committed to you. The love I have for you is bigger than my fear. It's bigger than my frustration, it's bigger than my discouragement. We hear from Paul the apostle, charity never fails. It will be greater, it will be bigger, it will be stronger. That's what Jesus says kept him on the cross. He says it was hard, it was frustrating, it was scary. But then in the book of Hebrews, for the love that was set before me, I endured it. And I think that's what we're finding here is when Nehemiah says, I have a great work, give a name to it, give a face to what that work is. Because the love of God, the love of people will be greater, it will be bigger. It will capture your. It'll capture your heart. We're back still in Ezra 4. And there is this moment in where things stop for them because of something that happens. But I think it's worth pointing out that's in verse 24, there is a standstill. And sometimes that does happen, right? Fear, frustration and discouragement can cause us to stand still. And I think that's worth worth noting. But there's this thing that happens in chapter four that's interesting. Starting in verse 12, the enemies write this letter to the king in 12 through 16, chapter four, Ezra 4, 12, 16, they write this letter to the king, and they say to the king essentially, of Persia. You have these people here, the Jews, and you ought to look up in your old records about them that they were a rebellious people, that they were a thorn in the side of those who were overlooking, that they are escape people, they are fight back people. And you ought to see that. And they tattle on them for being those kind of people. And the king goes up and he looks up the records and he's like, that's right. These people are kind of a troublesome people. And he says, you can't build that temple anymore. And when I read that, I thought it was really interesting that we're having a story here where people are defining them by their old story. They're looking at them and they're like, this is what you used to be like. And you used to be trouble, and you used to be a mess, and you used to be rebellious. And that was true. But then I love what the people do. After that, in chapter five and six, they write back and they say to this king, but, yes, but there is a new decree. The new king spoke a new decree over us. You can find that in chapter 6, verse 12, where this new king says, I, Darius, have issued this decree. Let it be obeyed with all diligence. And I just think that there's a really cool story happening here of it would be really easy when someone's trying to rebuild their faith, for somebody to define them by their old self, by who they used to be and how great it is that we can say, But a new king has declared a new decree over me, over who I am. That old version of me is not who I am today. I don't need to be defined by that old version of me. The king has issued a new decree. And for all intents and purposes, for any one of us, our king of kings has issued a new decree over who we are now. I once was a sinner. I once was blind. I once was those things. That's true. That was the only old me. But there's a new decree about who I am. I'm a. I'm a new person. And I think that's just a sweet and powerful part of this story and part of our story, too.

[B]

And you read out of the new living translation, but I, the King James translation of Ezra 6:12, I think is so powerful because it says this. I, Darius, have made a decree. Let it be done with speed. And I think there's something really powerful because I think a lot of the times with forgiveness and redemption, we want it to take longer than God does. And I think most of the time God says, look, you're forgiven, you are a new creature. Let it be done with speed. Don't go back to who they were. And I think as a human, as someone who is living through mortality, I want to accept the king's decree with speed. And if he says, let that happen quickly, then I want people that I might have known a different version than them of them. When I hear someone's story, I want to accept their new one with speed. I want to say, perfect, this might have been who you are, but I have accepted the new decree, and I will not wait and I will not punish you, and I will not be slow in accepting who you are now. I will let you be changed.

[A]

That's awesome and even. And about yourself, too. Yes. Right. Just to just, like, listen, if God has declared it, he has declared it right. I'm so captured every time by the last words Jesus speaks on the cross. His last spoken words are, it is finished. Right? That's the new decree. Sin is finished, death is finished, shame is finished. The devil's not allowed to speak. Discouragement, fear and frustration into your story anymore. That who you were, it's not who you are. Today the new decree has been spoken, so accept it for yourself and with others, and for others with. With great speed. Such a good line.

[B]

We're going to go back to Ezra 5 and what happens now in the first verse is the prophets show up. The prophets. The prophets. I'm not going to name them. I already told you, I don't do good at reading out loud. Okay. All the prophets show up.

[A]

Zechariah. I'll just say, yeah, they really are. Because I do think it's worth mentioning here. Roar. Just to get smart for a second, here's one spot in scripture where we see like, oh, this is where Haggai and Zechariah, these are prophets who come up later in the second half of the Old Testament. But remember, the prophets of the second half all fit somewhere in the storyline of the first half. And so this is what we're later on at the end of the year when it gets to be Christmas time, we're going to read from Zechariah and Haggai and what we're going to say to you from this kitchen table of ours is remember when we were in that rebuilding place? That's when Haggai and Zechariah lived. Right? So anyways, there's a smart smartness for you.

[B]

And what happens my favorite line of all of this is the prophets show up. And in verse two I love so much and with them were the prophets of God helping them. And I love that it says they were with them. They were with the people. They were in it. They knew they were going with the people building and helping them. And I there's this quote in Elder Tay's talk from this general conference, April 2026, and he says this. It is interesting to me that some people would think that God's prophets live in the past and are not attuned to the times. Everything I know of prophets is the opposite. And I think that sometimes we do get in our head or start saying that narrative of the prophets are so different than me. The prophets and apostles don't know what's actually happening. They are so out of touch, they are not in tune. And I would accept that testimony from conference that everything they know about, everything we know about them is the exact opposite. And what if when we talked about the prophets, we. We saw the apostles and we heard their stories, what if we realized and said the exact same sentence and with them were the prophets of God helping them? They are in the issues, they're in the problems. And their goal is to help. That is their only and unique goal, is to show up, be with us and help us.

[A]

And I'm going to come back to this version, the translation I love in chapter six, verse 14, it says it again. So the Jewish elders continued their work and this is the NLT versions. And they were greatly encouraged by the preaching of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah. So there's another word that's a role for a prophet. And we'll talk about this more. I think would be good to talk about this more when we get to the to the prophets section of Scripture that that word prophet makes us think, think always of a prophecy, of a looking forward to predicting the future. And scripturally, there are times when they predict the future, but it feels like rare. It doesn't feel like it's the number one job description of a prophet to predict the future or to, you know, or to prophesy the way that we like normally talk about that. Like what we, you know, what year is Jesus coming, you know, whatever type of thing. Yes, there are times when the prophets do that, but it feels like that's probably not the number one thing on their resume as prophet. More toward the top of that would be helping, building and encouraging, reminding. We're gonna see that again with, with Ezra in just a minute. Okay, here's this just little scripture, what do you call it, collection that I think about this whole day when I'm in this place of building or rebuilding. There is a phrase that gets repeated throughout Esther, Esther's next week. But what, what a girl, Ezra and Nehemiah, that it's over and over and over again. And I think it's worth. Anytime there's a phrase that's repeated, I. I think it just ought a ding, ding, ding in our head. The first one and then I'm going to give you the rest of them is in Ezra 76. And it's like this. Ezra was a scribe who is well versed. We're talking about Ezra. This is a verse we're going to do later, but let me just keep going. Was a scribe who was well versed in the law of Moses, which was which the Lord, the God of Israel had given the people of Israel. He came up to Jerusalem from Babylon and the king Gave him everything he asked for. Here's the line I love because the gracious hand of the Lord, his God was on him. What's King James say for Ezra 7 6? I think it's good too. I think it says the good hand of God was on him.

[B]

Yes, I know it.

[A]

According to the hand of God. So this is just a phrase.

[B]

Oh, yeah, it's in verse nine, verse nine. And the good hand of his God upon him. That's Ezra 7, 9 in the King James.

[A]

So here's a couple verses. Ready? Ezra 7:6, Ezra 7:9, Ezra 7, 28, Ezra 8, 18, Nehemiah 2, 8, Nehemiah 2, 18. And you'll find more where it just keeps repeating. The good hand of God was on them. Through the discouragement, through the fear, through the frustrations, through the standstills, through the everything that was there. Consistently throughout all of it, the good hand of God was upon them. Why are they finding success? Why are they? And it's just worth remembering as we talk about, like, oh, I. The part I play in this, you know, build up my altar, do the morning, all those things. I think in the end it's just worth remembering, consistent, that the good hand of God, the gracious hand of God is upon us. He wants us to succeed. He wants us to prosper. He wants us to flourish. It's his intention for those things to happen. He wants us to rebuild. He wants us to. He doesn't want us to stay in our old self anymore. And so, and I just think it's. I love that repeated thing, that repeated phrase throughout this whole thing that the, the good hand of God is upon you. And I want to say that to everybody who's, who's doing a good work or wanting to start a good work or wanting to restart a good work, know this. The gracious good hand of God is upon you.

[B]

And I love that it's not just repeated one time. In fact, in Ezra 7, Ezra 7, it's like there's three times when it mentions that. Yeah, I think that for me individually, there's been nothing more important for my testimony than recognizing the hand of God in my life. There's nothing that has built me up more in my seasons of building something else than looking for the hand of God, calling him out for his goodness. Goodness, knowing exactly what he's doing in my life. There's nothing. That is something I learned on my mission really quick, quickly. And my mission, I already told you, I look back with the rosiest colored glasses that have ever exist. And I feel like there were only good days. And the reason why is because the only thing I can see is the good hand of God. And that is just true about. I think once you start looking for it is once you see the good hand of God, he turns everything good.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. I think it's awesome. And in fact, there is this. There's this moment that we want to go to, to sort of end this in Nehemiah. So remember, we have Zerubbabel first, who's the beginning of the book of Ezra. Then Ezra comes to rebuild the faith of people, and then Nehemiah comes to build the walls. And then we get Ezra, who kind of comes back during the rebuilding of the walls for this moment. And it's Nehemiah chapter, chapter eight. And I don't know, I just feel like it just sort of summarizes this whole experience is what happens. So you just start in verse eight. And what Ezra is going to do is he's going to read the Law. And remember, anytime you read the Law, we're talking about the Torah, we're talking about the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, in Deuteronomy, the covenant story. So anytime someone is reading the Law, what they're doing is they're remembering and reminding people about the. Their covenant relationship that they have with God. And look at what happens. It says, starting at the beginning of verse eight, it says in October. Oh, that's the nlt. What does it say?

[B]

Always gives you months.

[A]

It just says the actual month, verse 8. Oh, wait, Nehemiah. Yeah. Are you in Nehemiah?

[B]

Yeah, but it's not even saying verse one.

[A]

Nehemiah 8. 1. Oh, look, it says in verse two, upon the first day of the seventh month. Just doing it out of order. Just doing it out of order. Okay, so in October, when all everyone had settled in their towns, all the people assembled with a unified purpose at the square just inside the water gate. And they asked Ezra the scribe to bring out the book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had given for Israel to obey. So on that day, Ezra the priest brought the Book of the Law before the assembly, which included the women and the men and all the children old enough to understand. And he faced the square just inside the wall from early morning until noon and read aloud to everyone who could understand. And he stood in verse four on a high wooden platform that had been made just for this occasion. And to his right stood all these people. And in verse five, Ezra stood on the platform in full view of all the people and when they saw him open the book, they all arose to their feet. Now, if you've got the journal and you open up to this Ezra section, it just talks about, like, there's a chance in here to write down. Here's how the people responded emotionally, spiritually and practically to the reading of this word. And I would say the reading of this word, we would broaden that to say just. Just this. This moment of rebuilding or this moment of embarking on, on or. Or building more to the faith that we already have. How do we respond to it emotionally, spiritually and practically? And you start looking at this and you start seeing some of this already. You start seeing practically, people are gathered together. Where else can our hearts be stirred unless we put ourselves. We actually practically set the alarm and wake up and go to church with. With the. With the men, women and children and sit there and have someone open up those words, you know, to us. I do love in verse five, that the people stand. I was at. I visited a church once where they did the reading. First the reading from the scripture. And then the pastor was going to give a sermon on the reading, but they read the reading first. And everybody stood for the reading of the Scriptures. And I'm sure they took it from this part of Scripture, you know, as a pattern for their meetings. And there's something about that. There's something about like. Like, hold on, like a king, like you stand for the king kind of thing. And I'm not suggesting that you have to do that, but I think there is something to let me elevate this moment. And I am going to kneel, you know, by my bedside, or I am going to stand or I am going to, like, do something different that, you know, opens up my heart that expresses some sort of desire here, you know, or respect or reverence or whatever it. You know, whatever it may be for that. So you start reading that and you're seeing that the people, like, they're doing practical things. They're. They're putting themselves in an emotional position to hear, to listen, to understand, to, you know, to be in inspired. And they hear him read and he reads it, right? And he opens up the book and he blesses the Lord, which means that he praises the Lord in verse six, the great God. And everybody answers amen. Amen, lifting up their hands and bowing their heads and worshiping the Lord in this place. And there's just. I don't know, there's something about. And maybe we could be really specific in. Some say there's something about hearing the Word of God as a part of our building and rebuilding journey. But it just feels more like this moment of remembering who God is, remembering what his intentions with you are, remembering how he feels about you, and being called to strengthen the relationship and being called to stand up and engage in the petition of heaven. Right. It feels like this is a moment where, as the Word is being read, that is God inviting and calling you into something bigger, into something better, and us just responding to it. And that's just what I kind of envision and. And see and feel with all of this. I'm not super organized on this. I just am really drawn to this moment as it feeling like this moment of heaven calling and me responding.

[B]

Yeah, no, same so much. And I. Verse number nine is so interesting because they're getting read the Word, and then this is what the response is. They all start crying, you guys. They all are crying. And it says, this day is holy unto the Lord your God. Mourn not, nor weep for all the people wept when they heard the words of the law. And then he said unto them, go your way. Eat the fat and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them from whom nothing is prepared. For this day is holy unto our Lord. Neither be ye sorry, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. And I love the. That these people. I already told you that I'm a crier, so of course I love that part. But I love that they didn't know what to do. They just cried and they cried and they cried. And my best part is that he says, wait a minute. This feels like Elder Kieran is, like, writing this verse himself.

[A]

I read this and then listen, Elder Kieran just did a reel, so you're gonna have to go back to May.

[B]

Okay, shoot. Sorry.

[A]

What's today? May 25. Go back on his Instagram account to May 25, where he stood up and he didn't stand up. He spoke about what it means to be a child of the covenant. And I saw that reel right after I read this, and I was like, oh, my gosh. That he's Ezra in this.

[B]

Because why? Now you have to tell us why. Just spoil the reel. What? Like, why?

[A]

Well, because he just described. He doesn't. Because he describes the relationship with. With God in the lens of it being a joyful, fruitful, amazing experience that, of course, every relationship has obligation built into it. Like, relationships only thrive when there's boundaries, and they only thrive when people live out their obligations. Right. Like, I just went to your wedding and in your ceiling. It talks about obligations that you two have to each other. But it was a joyful experience. Nobody sat there and thought to themselves, like, how restrictive. But rather like, we celebrated this commitment that you made to each other and what would come of that commitment. And so as he starts reading and talking about what's it mean to be a child of the covenant, initially we think like, oh, that's a two way prom, you know, whatever. And it's just like, hold on. It's just like these, these parameters that build this beautiful, fulfilling, thrilling relationship is what it is. And it's, and, and it's all, it's all centered in, and he says in, in, in the, in the real. And he's like, God sent his son to die to make this possible. Like, that is evidence of how committed to you he is, how love is at the very center of, of this entire thing. And I really thought that same exact thing that I was like, oh my gosh. Here is a ready scribe reading the law, teaching us what it means to be a person of faith, to be a person of covenant, and to focus on the joy and the thrill in it.

[B]

And I just love when the scripture says, don't be sorry. And I just, like, sometimes I just, I need to stop feeling sorry for myself, let myself really live joyfully. Yeah.

[A]

It's like, okay. Yeah. And why are they crying? Partly maybe because they read it and they're like, crap, we have not done what we should have been doing. You know, and it's like, I know, great. But then start today.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And go live in this. That line, that line. The joy of the Lord is your strength. That in verse 10 is unreal. That I feel like that is when I found that line, which I didn't know was in the Bible until yesterday.

[B]

Me either.

[A]

I might have, I might have hiding in Nehemiah, but. Yeah, but I actually thought to myself, oh, that's the brand of faith that I aspire to. I don't know if there's a weird way to say that, but I wanted to say it is the joy of the Lord that's most inspiring. It's the joy of the Lord that's most encouraging, is the joy of the Lord that is strengthening. Right. That actually the thrill and the good news of the gospel of the goodness of God are the most encouraging, building, strengthening and reassuring thing. Feels like the stupidest word to say at that point, but, you know, that is where strength is. My faith is strengthened in finding the joy in relationship and living a life of faith with God.

[B]

And I, I'm so Glad that you said that. Like, that's like the faith. That's like the life of a disciple that you want. Because that's all I can see when I read this, is that I love that he says, don't be sorry. And I want to say to myself, don't live in the shame of the gospel. Don't live in the regret of the gospel. Don't live in the. Fill in the blank with whatever you want. Live in the joy of the gospel. And I love when he says this. In this, he says, go live your life. And do you want to know what you're going to do? You're going to eat the fat and you're going to drink the sweet. You are going to experience the best things this life has to offer, the very best. And then after you do that, you know what you should do? You should go get portions prepared for all the people that don't have it yet. Go get the leftovers.

[A]

Bring everyone else in too. That's part of the joy of it.

[B]

There is so much room at the table. When you sit down and you experience what this gospel has to offer you, it will be the best experience of your life. You will be stronger because of the joy. And then after that, you will. You are going to know how good it is. You are going to look at everyone else that is not experiencing that and you're going to say, come and sit at this table because it is so good. This is the best this world has to offer.

[A]

Thinking I'm not good enough. I'm not measuring up. Never encouraged me to do more in my faith. Yeah, but the joy of the Lord, that he's so good and would reach out to someone like me and is so encouraging and, and just the good hand of the Lord, the good gracious hand of the Lord over me, that just makes. It makes me want to try better. It makes me want to be better. It makes me want to be in it more. And I feel like that can also be instruction. I like that this, you know, Elder Kieran slash Ezra stands up and says, you guys, there's joy in this, right? There's joy in this. Go forth in the joy of this. And I think it's. It's thrilling. Happens again in 17 too, by the way. Verse 17, where they all, they. They celebrate the Feast of the Booths, right? So it's so fun because he reads it and then everyone comes back the next day and they want to hear it again, right? It must be a good talk if you want to hear it a second time. Okay, And. And they do what they read, right? And they celebrate this festival where the feast of the booths, the feast of the Tabernacles is where people actually built little booths outside their houses. And they do it for seven days and they spend time in it. And it reminds them of how God took care of them in the wilderness and now how they. How he took care of them when they were in exile. And it's just a reminder of that, that God's hand has been over us the whole time. And so they go and they have this great celebration. And then in verse 17, it says, after the celebration, it says, and the children of Israel, they hadn't done it since then, but they started doing it. And then it says. And there was very great gladness in. In 17. So good. Right now, you guys, chapter nine is not suggested in the readings for this week, and it really should be. Okay, so just add it into your reading. Let me tell you how it's divided up. And I would actually suggest reading this in another translation, but there is a prayer that the people offer starting in verse 5. It goes to verse 37. And just pull out of that. Just. This prayer is just. It's so sweet. It talks about the times we made mistakes. It talks about how where God's been there through the ups, through the downs, through the fears, the discouragements, through everything. And it's just such a fantastic. It's like somebody just looking back all the times that God has been there for them. It's such a great prayer.

[B]

This is so good. I'm reading it right now and telling you, like, this is only one more chapter. We could have read this.

[A]

This is what I'm saying.

[B]

Everyone you're reading it, everyone you're reading it is going to make you want to cry.

[A]

Need to add it in. I just. I can't even. It just is the history. It's like God. They're recounting how good God has been and especially for a nostalgic person like you.

[B]

Yeah, no, this is.

[A]

It just is your chapter.

[B]

This is for me. You know what? Let me just say. Well, actually, you.

[A]

Well, I. Listen, listen. I just. Let me just give you a hint of it starting off like this. May your glorious name be praised. May you be exalted above all. Blessing and praise. You alone are Lord. You made the skies and the heaven and the stars. You made the earth and the. The seas and everything in them. You preserve them. All the angels of heaven worship you.

[B]

You.

[A]

You're the Lord God who chose Abram and brought him out of that land and renamed him Abraham and. And. And promised us this land. You saw the misery of our ancestors and heard their cries beside the red sea. You. You divided the sea for your people that they could walk through. You came down on Mount Sinai and spoke to them from heaven.

[B]

You.

[A]

We rebelled against you, but you brought us back. So it's just talking about, on the days that we were discouraged, you were there. On the days when there were problems too big for us, you were there. On our happiest days, you were there. And the days of our mistakes, you were there. And he just goes through and talks about all the different kinds of situations and how God was there. And then at the end of it, verse 38, it said, it says this line in chapter nine. And let me see if it says good in the King James Version. We don't know, but it says this. Oh yeah, both are good. Chapter 9, verse 38, it says, and because of all of this, we make a sure covenant. And it's this moment where they actually sign their names and they enter reenter into effect covenant relationship with God. And I just love. We've seen this a couple times in the Bible so far, but it's my favorite one, this one where they're just say, in view of all this, because of all this, we choose to live our life with you. And I think that is. It's so sweet. I want everybody to enter into every covenant renewal or making moment with God having read that prayer and then saying, because of all that, we choose to do life with you.

[B]

And I just want to say, first of all, I didn't even try reading in the King James version because I can't even read things out loud. Okay, but you can if you want. But like this. You're kidding me. But when they called out for help in their troubles, you listened from heaven. And in keeping with your bottomless compassion, you gave them healing heroes. We like get excited about bottomless fries at Red Robin. I'm like, are you kidding me right now with bottomless compassion? That's the cutest thing I've ever heard in my entire life. Ever. Listen, so this is my idea for you. This is what I want to do for come follow me. This week. I'm gonna make everyone I know do this with me. For come follow me is to sit down and read this. Their history of all the ways that God showed up. And then to sit down and write your own. Where has God showed up for you? And what makes you want to have a relationship with him? Yeah, and write down as many as you possibly can. And that is. How'd I never know that existed? Yeah. I don't even have words and almost

[A]

you want to, like, write it out. Like, on my best day, this is how. He was there.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

On my.

[B]

You could. If you were smart. We can't do this, but if you are smart right now and you are a teacher, this is what you should do. If it were me, you should. Should give them a blueprint for how to write their own. And you should, like, go through. And you can go through the verses. It'll be way easier with a different translation. And just copy theirs of like this. Like, it will. Like that one. We'll say, like, when did he show up on your best day? When did he rescue you from something? When did he fill in the blank and just go make them a little, like, cheat sheet and just have them fill in the blank. That's the cutest lesson of all time.

[A]

When did he show bottomless compassion? Like, when did he send a hero?

[B]

I can't even. When did he send a hero? When did he send a hero? Makes me want to cry. The message.

[A]

The message.

[B]

I get it on the Bible app. It's free. Okay. It's not serious.

[A]

So I just love it. I love it. I love that. It's like when heaven calls for me to build or rebuild. It's. Heaven doesn't call God in. Heaven calls. And this is what he's like. And invites us into something bigger and into something better. And when we remember who it is that's asking, we're compelled to. We're compelled to respond. And we. We. We realize we can go slow and that. That we can when we turn into this new chapter with him. That the old chapter doesn't define us anymore. And, and, and. And it just is. It's thrilling. That's the good news, that's the joy, and that is the strength. So, so good. Who knew Nehemiah was even that good?

[B]

He loved it.

[A]

Okay, see next week's Esther.

[B]

Oh, it's even getting quieter. Sorry.

[A]

It's getting better and better. Can't wait. See you next week. If you want to follow along in everything we're doing, you can find us on Instagram at. Don't miss this study at this week's Grace and rdavebutler.

[B]

And if you wanna subscribe to the app or get our weekly newsletter, all of the information can be found@don'tmissthisstudy.com See you next week.