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The state of Michigan has a Timid Motorist Program. For a fee, a fearful driver can let somebody else drive their car across a long, high bridge that scares them. When Ezra was about to leave Babylon for his homeland—a trip of some 900 miles—he realized the trip could be risky and scary for some. Not only might his group of some 5,000 people face issues of wild animals or sickness, robbers might forcefully take their money—huge sums of money and other resources that the king and others had donated for building projects. Here’s what Ezra said — Ezra Chapter 8: “I gave orders for all of us to fast and humble ourselves before our God. We prayed that he would give us a safe journey and protect us—our children, our goods—as we traveled. I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to accompany us and protect us from enemies along the way. After all, we had told the king, ‘Our God’s hand of protection is on all who worship him. So we fasted and earnestly prayed that our God would take care of us, and he heard our prayer.’” Now Ezra and his people had made extensive preparations for their journey. But now, after doing all they could humanly do, they prayed and depended upon God to get them to their destination. We can take a lesson from Ezra.
