Have you explored the book of Ezra lately?
Ezra offers encouragement of seeing how God works behind the scenes to fulfill His good plans:
Ezra 1:1: God moves the heart of the Persian king, Cyrus, to send the Israelites home from exile, to fulfill the word He had already spoken to Jeremiah (Jeremiah 25:11-12 and Jeremiah 29:10-11). God moves Cyrus to make the decree and to put it in writing. (That written part becomes important in chapter 5.)
Ezra 1:5: God moves the hearts of His people to go to Jerusalem and rebuild. Their needs are provided in generous ways.
Ezra 5:1: When the rebuilding project is delayed, God sends two prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, to stir momentum again.
Ezra 5:5: When the new rebuilding efforts are questioned yet again, the eyes of God are on the leaders of the Israelites, and they aren’t delayed in their rebuilding. The new Persian king is asked to search the archives for Cyrus’s original decree.
Ezra 6:1-12: The new Persian king, Darius, finds Cyrus’s original decree, the one God had moved Cyrus to put in writing in Ezra 1:1. Darius makes his own decree that the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem will continue, with stolen treasures returned, expenses covered, and punishment made to anyone who tries to stop the rebuilding.
Ezra 6:14: The temple rebuilding is completed according to the command of God.
Ezra 6:22: The Israelites, returned from exile, celebrate Passover in Jerusalem because the Lord has filled them with joy.
If you ever feel like nothing is going right, things are delaying you, coming against you, keeping you in exile, holding you back, let Ezra remind you God is working behind the scenes to fulfill His good plans:
“This is what the Lord says: ‘When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” (Jeremiah 29:10-11 NIV)
Adventures with God 