During the days of Ezra and Nehemiah, the Jews had returned from being in exile in Babylon to a destroyed Jerusalem that they were working to restore. In trying to restore the destroyed city, their adversaries came along the way and heavily mocked their efforts. Their adversaries thought that their mocking of the Jews’ efforts would make them stop working to restore their city; this is how all enemies, especially our great adversary, works.

This is a passage of scripture that always brings to my mind our efforts of restoration – our growth. You see, we are, or at least we should be, always growing and always changing. One thing I often pray to the Lord about is for me to be a better person tomorrow than I am today and was yesterday. When you and I decide to grow and to be better, it catches not only the attention of our family and friends, but it catches the attention of our adversaries even more. Our supporters will support, but our adversaries are there to mock and to tear us down; they don’t want to see us grow.

My encouraging word to you today is to pray to the Lord, and keep moving forward – be steadfast! Here’s a prayer you should pray today to the Lord: “Lord, lift me up and keep me motivated.” God is with you and He will keep you motivated. With God, we will be a better person tomorrow than we are today .