Put Up or Shut Up

There are times when talk the talk of faith in our great God. Times when we’re really not pushed to the limit to trust in His goodness and grace. Most of us don’t live in situations where our lives depend on nothing but our faith in Jesus. Most days, life is rather routine. Same old, same old. On those garden variety days, we’ll talk about trusting in Christ for who He is and what He’s done but there’s rarely a reason for the rubber to meet the road. But one day, the bottom falls out. One day, sky crashes in. One day, we realized that when it comes to our faith, we have really put it into practice. We have to stop talking the talk and start walking the walk. We have to put up or shut up.

Flip your Bible to Ezra 8:21-23 and that’s exactly what’s going down. Our man Ezra has assembled his expansion team of Israelites for a return to Jerusalem nearly 150 years after Zerubbabel’s original team returned from Babylonian captivity to rebuild the temple. The scene is a campground along the Ahava River in back in Babylon. The expedition numbers right at 1,500 men. Including women and children, you’re looking at 7,000-8,000 people. The resettlement has not been without hiccups. Just before hitting the road, Ezra realized that he had no Levites or temple servants to assist the priests in worship (Ez 8:12). Once again, God comes through and provides a small but essential team of temple workers for the mission (Ez 8:18-20). Now it’s about to get real. It’s just about time to hit the road. The clock is ticking down to liftoff. It’s at this point that Ezra realizes it’s time to walk by faith. Ezra realizes that he needs to stop talking the talk and start walking the walk. 

It’s time to put up or shut up. 

At the riverside campground, Ezra puts out the word that before anyone takes one step for Jerusalem, everyone needs to get focused on what’s about to happen. Better yet, Who is about to happen. “Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods” (v21). The leader of the expedition announces that everyone who’s going back to the Promised Land will avoid food and drink in order to prepare their hearts for what’s ahead. I’ve always wondered why they call it a “fast.” There’s nothing fast about it! Seriously, fasting isn’t something you hear many followers of Jesus talking about today. And that’s a real shame. Specifically, it’s the conscience decision to not eat anything for a period of time in order to focus our dependance on God for everything we need. As I fast, my growling stomach reminds me that what I really need is the Bread of Life (Jn 6:35). My hunger pangs remind me of my Savior’s own fast during his showdown in the desert with the devil (Lk 4:1-4). The ache in my gut reminds me of that amazing dinner party Jesus invites us to called the Wedding Supper of the Lamb (Rev 19:9). Ezra proclaims this riverside fast to remind the people of the One who is really behind their return. 

These Jewish returnees fast and pray for their journey home. They declare their absolute dependance on God for what’s ahead. The Israelites are on the verge of a 1,000-mile trip through some of the most dangerous deserts and wilderness. Only Yahweh can truly protect them from what’s ahead. There’s no GPS. There are no Google Maps. There are no drive-thrus. A safe journey is in His hands. It’s interesting to see who and what Ezra tells the people to put on their prayer lists. Pray for each other. Pray for your children. Pray for everything you’re taking with you. Maybe this is the biblical precedence for praying to Jesus that your luggage doesn’t get lost. 

Then Ezra lets us in on a little “Inside Baseball” on his reason for this fast. “For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against the enemy on our way, since we had told the king, ‘the hand of our God is good on all who seek Him, and the power of His wrath is against all who forsake Him’” (v22). So the truth comes out. Ezra didn’t ask King Artaxerxes for a security detail for the expedition. On one hand, he certainly could have. The king made it absolutely clear that he was giving the Israelites the royal blank check to bankroll the trip (Ez 718, 20-21). Certainly Artaxerxes wouldn’t have blinked if Ezra would have asked for a military escort through some incredibly treacherous territory. 

But while the Big E knew that he could have asked for some Persian muscle, he also knew Who was truly behind this entire project. He’s reminded everyone who would listen, including the king, that God has His fingers all over the return of His people to the land He’s promised them. If Ezra asks Artaxerxes for a security detail, what would that say about his trust in his God? What would the king and the other Persian officials believe about the Israelites’ faith in the LORD? You see, it’s time for Ezra and the children of God to stop talking the talk and start walking the walk. 

It’s time to put up or shut up.

You know this day is coming for each one of us, don’t you? That day when we have to stop talking about our faith in our great God and start walking in faith in our great God. Many of us don’t need a reminder. Been there. Done that. Got the t-shirt. Some of us haven’t quite gotten there. Trust me. The day is coming. The pink slip at work. The diagnosis from the doctor. The betrayal of a friend. The funeral of a child. It’s on those dark days when our faith in Jesus is truly put to the test. When life is on cruise control, I’ve got everything in a bag with a little twist tie. But when things hit the fan, when things get really messy, that’s when my faith gets real. We need to always remember that when we walk through Death Valley, we never walk alone (Ps 23:4). Our Savior is right there by our side.

But what about those times when our faith wobbles? What about those times when we’re hanging on by a thread? We need to remember that we’re trusting in the One who’s faith never wavered. Paul tells his buddy Timothy, “If we are faithless, He remains faithful” (2Tim 2:13). It’s not about the strength of our faith, but in the strength of the Object of our faith! We trust in Jesus’ faithfulness to His Father’s will and His commands because ours continually falls short. Even on that darkest of nights when He asked His Dad for a way out of what was ahead, our Savior stepped out in faithfulness for each one of us. “Nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done” (Lk 22:42). Jesus didn’t just talk the talk, He walked the walk.

Meanwhile back at the Ahava compound, Ezra tells us that God answers their request. “So we fasted and implored our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty” (v23). Let’s be very clear about what did NOT happen. Ezra’s order of fasting and prayer didn’t work like some sort of magic incantation to get the LORD to respond. He’s not a genie in a bottle. He’s not a divine vending machine that spits out just what you and I want when we give Him what He demands. No, what happened here is that Ezra and the people acknowledged their absolute and utter dependence on God. This time of fasting and prayer didn’t change God’s heart. It changed theirs. You see, there are times when we have to stop talking the talk and start walking the walk.

It’s time to put up or shut up.