There is hope for any situation!  God’s grace is sufficient for every situation if only His people will be willing to return to Him.  And for this to happen God’s people need to do more than praying – they need to appropriate His grace and engaged in doing His will. 

Now while Ezra was praying, and while he was confessing, weeping, and bowing down before the house of God, Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, who with others had transgressed by taken foreign wives, repented, and spoke up and said to Ezra, “We have been unfaithful, yet there is hope in Israel in spite of this” (verse 2). He called for a reformation and a renewal of the covenant according to the law (verse 3), and said, “We are with you, Ezra, so be of good courage, and do it” (verse 4). 

Any reformation is always a return to doing God’s will.  The work of reformation is not a one-day work.  What is important is for God’s people to decide to give up their wicked ways on a daily basis – daily giving up what is not of God’s will.  The spiritual leaders and the people agreed to do so, but like in any reformation, not all agreed to conform to God’s will (verse 15).

“Father in Heaven, teach us to know that there is hope all the time in Jesus.”

Pardon Mwansa
General Vice President
General Conference