Listen to today’s devo!

Ezra was praying and confessing, weeping and throwing himself down before the house of God. (Ezra 10:1)

Expanded Passage: Ezra 10:1-4

Christian leader Gordon McDonald recounts how his high school cross-country coach made a huge impact on his life by not letting him quit. Gordon wanted some free time and determined early in the summer to take a break from fall sports. He justified his choice by promising to start back with track in the spring. His coach, however, would hear none of it, stating that Gordon would disappoint his teammates and ultimately create a pattern of quitting in his life.

How often do we dare to be like the coach—to say the hard thing to our friends and loved ones or ourselves? I think we more often enable people to live less than victorious lives. A woman in my Bible study recently confessed that she felt convicted about her excessive love of shopping, and most of the other women responded by telling her not to be so hard on herself. How much easier it is to tell people what will make them feel better than to urge them to do what is right!

Ezra the prophet did not take the easy way out. He saw that the Israelites had disobeyed God, and he wept over their disobedience. “Here we are before you in our guilt,” he said. He made no attempt to justify the behavior—and so brought about revival in the people.

Tell the hard truth, even when justifying feels safer.

L. Wilson lives in rural Indiana where he enjoys cycling, yardwork, and reading a wide assortment of books.

© 2026 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.